


American Stars

by amybeegood



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe, Badly-behaved Rey, Drug Use, Enemies to Lovers, Even Worse Behaved Ben, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Horny celebrities doing naughty things to each other, I am not going to be able to hold out as long as I thought..., Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent, Oral Sex, Shameless Smut, Slowish Burn depends on how long I can hold out
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-07-04 14:08:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 45,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15842877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amybeegood/pseuds/amybeegood
Summary: When celebrity enemies Ben Solo and Rey Niima are thrown together on the set of the biggest talent search show of the century, it's a recipe for disaster and the whole country will watch...Solo needs the ratings, and Niima needs revenge.When Solo's past comes back to haunt him, will he be able to protect his heart and his music company?Content warning: The story will have themes of dubious consent due to drug/alcohol use. There is a near-rape referred to in the story. Graphic violence. Explicit Sexual Content.Find me on Twitter@beegood_amyfor updates to my ever-growing smut collection and occasional tweets. XOXO!





	1. Yeah. Me, Too.

Rey Niima approached the side stage entrance with a mixture of dread and resolve. _He_ was lurking next to the curtained-off entrance obscuring the stage. He was glowering at her, she was sure, from behind an expensive-looking pair of aviator sunglasses.

Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. The last time Rey had spoken to Ben Solo was five years ago in an upscale restaurant in New York City.

That conversation had been epically disastrous.

Deciding to take the offensive, Rey huffed as she approached, “Well, well, if it isn’t the _Dream Killer_.” She made sure not to disguise her disdain.

Ben Solo paused for a fraction of a second before he remarked sarcastically, “Well, well. If it isn’t _Little Miss Scavenger_ …”

She couldn’t see through his sunglasses, but she could tell he’d given her a thorough undressing with his eyes by the way his head tilted up and down.

Rey hmphed. She knew he was checking her out. _He has some nerve._

He always did that. He’d done it the last time they’d seen each other.

She had been all of seventeen years old and admittedly had popped a Perc and thrown back several shots of Grey Goose before going to meet with him…and the encounter had not ended well.

Actually, it had ended by her screaming for him to go fuck himself and throwing his single-malt scotch in his handsome, sneering face.

He had totally deserved it, though. After what he’d said, he’d deserved a lot worse, in Rey’s opinion.

He was still looking at her. Her face felt warm. _Look all you want, buddy. Cuz you’re never gonna get anything more than that…_

She flipped her hair, knowing it drew attention to the delicate lines of her collarbones and neck. Her dress was cut so low, she worried her movement might cause _something_ to pop out. But, no. Her magician stylist had used all the tricks at her disposal to ensure everything stayed put.

Rey felt a layer of tension between them and realized a tiny part of her had trouble admitting she wanted to … let him look.

“I’d rather not do this now,” said Rey, as she smoothed her gold-sequined dress over her hips and turned to the side.

“Yeah, me too,” Ben replied coolly as if he’d just decided she wasn’t worth the effort of speaking to. He adjusted his aviators, and Rey couldn’t tell for sure if he was looking at her through the reflective lenses or if he was watching the cues from the stagehands.

They stood just backstage, waiting to film the first episode for the new season of _The First Order: American Stars_ , the biggest music talent-search show on TV.

She recalled how the paparazzi had caught everything on camera five years ago in that restaurant. It had taken months of PR work to get the incident to die down. Rey felt a little guilty over the trouble she had caused for her new agent and record label at the time.

Rey still felt a tad uncomfortable in front of cameras – especially for unscripted filming – and tried to concentrate on her breathing.

She could feel resentment floating off _him_ like toxic smoke.

He was obviously still angry with her. That was beyond unfair.

Rey was about to start in on Solo but stopped when she saw Poe draw near. Instead, she rolled her eyes and muttered, “Whatever, _asshole_.”

“Ready guys?” Poe Dameron, host of the show, approached them with an utterly appealing smile. If he overheard Rey's comment, he obviously was choosing to ignore it.

Poe’s dark curls framed his good-looking, olive-skinned face. His heavy-lidded eyes smoldered without any effort on his part, and Rey found herself completely charmed. It was no wonder Poe Dameron was one of the most sought-after stars in the entertainment industry. In fact, Poe had been one of the main reasons why Rey had agreed to be a judge this season.

Poe wore a tux as if he’d been born in one, exuding a natural talent for putting those around him at ease. It usually worked, but right now the hostility between two of his leading judges filled the air in a cloying, tangible cloud.

Cameramen and stagehands swarmed around efficiently, and Poe nodded to several people with a friendly grin to everyone. Connix came up to adjust his mic and check on Rey and Ben.

“Where’s Finn?” Rey asked, curious. She was studiously ignoring a surly Ben Solo, who loomed just nearby casually scrolling through his phone with his thumb.

Rey completely and absolutely did not acknowledge how massive his hand looked and how his long, dexterous fingers made his phone appear ridiculously small…

“I’m here!” Finn trotted up to them slightly out of breath, rolling his eyes apologetically. “Sorry I’m late! It takes time to get all this lookin’ this good…hey, Rey!” Finn leaned in to give Rey a friendly hug.

“Hi, Finn! You do look good!” Rey hugged him back.

Finn grinned at her and gave her an admiring once-over, “And you look great!”

Finn was her best friend. They had gotten to know each other at the private high school they attended in L.A. They had remained friends after each of them had skyrocketed to fame, Rey for her pop music, and Finn for his music and now acting career.

Finn was of average height, with gorgeous dark skin, short, black hair, and chocolate brown puppy-dog eyes that melted the hearts of everyone who met him. As Rey stepped away from Finn’s hug, Finn leaned over to Ben with a “Hey, man, nice to see you again” and a congenial handshake.

 _Finn’s personality makes him seem taller than he really is_ , Rey thought fondly, as she realized – not for the first time – in her high heels, she was an inch or two taller than he was.

Not so with Ben Solo, who was ridiculously long-legged. It didn’t help that he was wearing boots that added at least a half-inch to his height. Rey tried to ignore that fact and failed spectacularly.

Ben shook Finn’s hand and nodded at him before returning his laser-like attention to focus on Rey. If she were being completely honest with herself, Rey always felt a bit intimidated around Solo, even though he had never given her reason to be afraid of him…not really.

Although he was glaring at her now. She could feel it through those Ray Bans.

“I thought you said you didn’t want to do this now?” she hissed acidly at him.

“I don’t,” Ben bit off.

His jaw worked as if he were biting his tongue behind those closed, full red lips of his…Rey dragged her eyes away from his mouth and glared into the reflective surface of his sunglasses.

That was somehow easier than looking at his long, lean legs encased in dark jeans, or his ridiculously huge feet in expensive black cowboy boots…or his broad, muscled shoulders outlined under his tight black t-shirt…

“Then quit fucking staring,” Rey whispered hotly, her cheeks turning pink against her will. She flipped him the bird.

“Hey, guys, this is a family show…” Poe tried to interject a joke, watching their exchange with a hint of alarm.

Ben pulled his glasses off, ignoring Poe, and Rey felt the full impact of those whiskey-brown eyes hit hers like a blast wave. He was _furious_.

“Then quit fucking acting like a little girl, Rey,” Ben replied menacingly. His deep voice thrummed with contempt.

Finn’s eyebrows lifted, and Poe’s head swung back and forth between the two of them. Everyone on the show was well-aware of Rey’s and Ben’s complicated history, at least the version the paparazzi had spread far and wide years ago…but Rey had assured them all working with Ben Solo would not be a problem for her. She could be professional.

_They should have checked with Solo, too._

Rey sucked in a breath to respond, but Connix ran up at that moment and said, “You’re on in sixty seconds…” She caught the unfriendly undercurrent between them and looked at Poe in a panic. “Are we all good?”

“Yeah. We’re good,” interrupted Ben. “Let’s get this over with.”

He hooked his sunglasses into the top of his t-shirt and turned to face the stage entrance, hitching a hip forward and shoving his hands into his jeans pockets as if he was waiting in line at a taco stand, not as if he was about to appear in front of a live audience that would be televised to tens of millions.

 _Of course, he’s done this for a few years,_ Rey thought, trying to pull her own turbulent emotions into line.

Ben Solo had been a judge on _American Stars_ for the past three seasons. He was the judge everyone loved to hate, as he did not pull punches with his brutal critiques at auditions. However, there was a reason why he was one of the leading producers in the music industry. If Ben Solo said you had talent, you had an instant career.

Rey squirmed guiltily as she recalled how close she’d been to signing a deal with Kylo Ren Music five years ago. She had backed out at the last minute and gone to Skywalker Records, instead. Ben had naturally been enraged over it. Skywalker Records was run by his uncle and mother and happened to be KRM’s biggest competitor. Even worse, Ben and his family had had a falling out over a decade ago, which had prompted the creation of the Kylo Ren label in the first place.

Although it had been before Rey’s time, _that_ scandal had been pretty legendary.

Rey saw the cue lights flash and pulled her thoughts to the present.

Connix stepped in and snapped her fingers at Poe. “Poe, you’re on in ten…then you’ll introduce Ben, Rey, then Finn…in five…”

She counted down the last few seconds by lowering her fingers and swung a hand to Poe, who fixed on a toothy smile and strolled out to the stage.

The audience cheered, and Rey heard him welcome everyone to the next season.

Ben was looking at her again. Right before he went onstage, he muttered to her, “We’re not done, yet…”

As he strolled onto the stage with a condescending smile and a half-wave at the cheering audience, Rey surveyed his loose-hipped, lanky gait with a sense of rising panic. His words had been a simple statement, but they’d felt more like a threat. Underneath all that was the total arrogance rolling off every inch of his large, muscled frame. And something else. Something Rey couldn’t define.

“You okay, Peanut?” Finn whispered to her, using her old nickname from school.

Rey planted a broad smile on her face. She would be damned if she let Ben Solo get her emotional again. Ever.

“I’m great,” she lied and walked into the bright, bright lights.

 

Ben Solo sat sullenly in his seat at the judges’ table, facing the stage. Rey Niima, the bane of his existence five years ago, stood there waving at the cheering audience, completely oblivious to the fact she was causing him extreme discomfort in the region of his groin.

She walked confidently across the stage to her seat next to him at the table, her softly rounded hips swinging under that skin-tight, gold thing she was wearing. Ben refused to call it a dress, as it was cut down to her navel and didn’t have a back.

The slit up the side of the skirt went halfway up her thigh and Ben caught a glimpse of her tanned, toned bare leg peeking through with every step she took toward him. _She looks like sex in stilettos._

Ben almost groaned out loud. If he was going to have to look at her dressed in stuff like this for the next three months…he was in deep shit.

Her shiny, chestnut hair was half up, half curling over one lightly freckled shoulder, and little wisps had been artfully pulled free to float around her gorgeous, smiling face. He willed himself not get hard at the thought of wrapping one of those wisps around his finger before kissing the breath out of her and ripping that scrap of gold fabric off her body…

 _This is supposed to be a family show_ , he thought darkly, his jaw clenching.

In any other scenario, Ben would have demanded to contact the show’s producers about the cast's wardrobe choices, but that would have been pointless in this case: He _was_ one of the show's producers and the other one was … _Uncle Luke_.

How he’d gotten Skywalker involved with this production was as twisted and complicated as everything else in his life. But the bottom line was Ben’s label, Kylo Ren Music, was in desperate need of good PR right now, and the Skywalker brand was as clean-cut and family-friendly as it got.

Or so he’d thought until he saw Rey’s getup for the opening show.

Ben heard several loud wolf-whistles from the audience directed at Rey. He resisted the urge to shoot a quelling glare into the crowd behind him.

Rey ignored him as she sat down in her spot next to him and waved at Finn who had just entered the stage to wild cheering.

They had been extraordinarily lucky to get Finn Storm on the show, and Ben knew it. After breaking into the music industry to overwhelming success five years ago, Finn was now one of the most sought-after young actors in Hollywood. He was scheduled to begin filming a major blockbuster immediately at the end of this season of _American Stars._

With his history, Finn would know the music industry inside and out, and he made an ideal judge – not only did he bring major star power to the show, but he also had lots of experience and had worked with Ben on more than one occasion. And Finn had a natural charisma that would play well with Rey’s enthusiastic positivity and Ben’s own down-to-earth sarcasm. The crowd was still screaming excitedly for Finn as he took his seat on the other side of Rey.

They had cheered for Ben, too. But they wouldn’t for long. His role in all this was to be the voice of reason. Which meant he was often the bad guy who had to deliver the hard news.

No, not _often_. He was _always_ the bad guy.

Ben knew he would hear plenty of boos from the audience before the season was over. He had quite a reputation for callousness to maintain. Rey had called him _Dream Killer_ , and she hadn’t been far wrong…

It wasn’t easy breaking hearts and dreams, but Ben Solo was good at it.

 _Apparently_.

 

Once the judges were seated and the audience settled, the thumping of the show’s theme music died down, Poe spoke for a few minutes about what a great season they had lined up for everyone.

Rey barely heard him as she tried to ignore Ben Solo sitting next to her. It was impossible. She could feel fury and frustration oozing from him. She knew it was directed right at her.

_What is his problem?_

The show’s music thumped into the theater again and the animated logo flashed over the giant screen onstage behind Poe. It was time for a camera break for commercials to run. Poe, ever the professional entertainer, worked the audience, walking up to the people seated in the first few rows and asking questions and telling jokes. Everyone loved it.

Although they weren’t technically filming at the moment, Rey kept her game face on. Just about every person in the audience had their phones trained on them. Rey was sure candid shots of her and her fellow judges would be all over social media tomorrow to be scrutinized, commented on, and every random facial expression speculatively photoshopped into all kinds of crazy scenarios.

Things were definitely weird out there on the internet. It was Rey’s least favorite part of being a celebrity.

After a stagehand ran up to their table to check their microphones and beverages, Rey turned to Ben.

“Solo?” she muttered to Ben through her teeth, “What the eff?”

“What?” he hissed back, lifting a brow.

“Get that look off your face or people are going to think there’s something wrong…” Rey shot back at him, a fake smile plastered on her face. She blinked at him.

Ben scowled at her. And then he laughed out loud when he realized she was right. Her heart bumped in her chest at the disarmingly attractive sound.

His laugh came out rather loudly and Finn leaned back in his chair with a “What’s up?”

Rey rolled her eyes and turned to Finn.

It was going to be a long three months.


	2. Anything Else?

**Miami, FL**

The filming schedule was brutal, but not totally unmanageable, Rey thought.

Auditions would last for two days in each city and on those days, they would start filming at seven in the morning and end well into the evening. She had definitely endured more grueling schedules when she’d been on tour or filming a music video.

They were finished for the day and finally back at the hotel, where each of the judges and Luke Skywalker had their own penthouse suites on the top floor.

Rey was ready to relax after the first day of filming. Dealing with Ben Solo had definitely been a challenge, but she realized quickly that if she ignored him, she would be able to do her job.

It was later in the evening, but still warm. Rey loved Miami. She was going to take advantage of the floor’s private pool and hang out with Beebee, her King Charles Spaniel who happily traveled with her everywhere she went.

Rey threw on a white bikini, flip-flops, and a bright pink half-robe, then twisted her hair into a messy bun on top of her head. She whistled to Beebee as she walked through the floor-to-ceiling sliding glass door leading to a shared patio and pool for the penthouses.

Dusk was settling over the city, and the pool’s LED lighting gave a soft glow to the patio space. Potted palm trees swayed gently in the breeze and the air smelled fresh and almost tropical from the brief rain that blew through a couple hours ago.

Rey found a good spot near the pool and laid a folded-up towel on her seat for Beebee to lay on, which he happily did with a wag of his silky little tail.

“Good boy!” Rey chirped at him and his tail wagged again.

Nobody else was around, so Rey stripped out of her robe, kicked off her flip-flops, and wandered to the diving board.

As she climbed onto the board and prepared to dive in, a movement caught her eye and her heart careened wildly at what she saw.

_Fucking hell._

Ben Solo, who apparently had the same idea she’d had, sauntered out of his room wearing a fucking speedo.

That was a sight Rey would have trouble _ever_ forgetting, no matter how much she hated him.

She ripped her eyes away from his fantastically sculpted chest and pretended she hadn’t noticed him. She dove gracefully into the water, swimming under until she reached the other side of the pool closer to her seat and away from _him._

The last thing she needed right now was a confrontation while she was half-naked and he was…looking like that…

When she came up, however, she was greeted by the sight of him, standing right between her and her seat...

She couldn’t help but scan her eyes up his body, from his handsome, enormous feet, up his calves dusted with fine black hair, up those thick thighs that looked like they _never_ missed leg day, over the – gulp – bulging speedo, up to his finely carved abs with a hint of dark hair running from his navel and disappearing in a tantalizing line down into that speedo – _quit going back to the speedo_ – over the heavy slabs of his pectoral muscles, muscularly rounded shoulders, clenched jaw, glaring eyes… _glaring eyes?_

He held out a towel for her, obviously impatient while she took her time ogling him.

Rey climbed out of the pool and took the proffered towel with a muffled, “Thanks.”

“You’re _welcome_ ,” he said, quietly sarcastic. His dark eyes bored into hers...

“Anything else?” he asked, arching a dark brow at her.

Rey realized she was just standing there, holding that towel, staring at his mouth. _Ugh. He caught me looking. Dammit._

She ignored him and dried her hair, wrapping the towel around her shoulders as she headed to her robe. She was glad it was getting somewhat dark, as she was sure she was blushing beet red.

Beebee gave her a half-enthusiastic wag and a squeaky yip of welcome. At least she felt like she had an ally out here with Solo lurking around like a cranky demigod.

Rey put on her robe, keeping herself turned away from Solo’s penetrating gaze, and knotted the tie firmly around her waist.

Thankfully, when she turned back around, he was headed to the diving board. Her face heated all over again at the view of his backside.

_Damn. That is one fine piece of ass._

Refusing to be run off by Solo, however, Rey stubbornly sat in her lounge chair and pulled a half-smoked joint from the pocket of her robe. She’d come out here to relax, and she’d be damned if she wouldn’t.

She flicked a lighter, which she had also pulled from her robe pocket, and gave a few good hard pulls on the joint, finally sucking in a burning lungful of OG Kush. She held it for just a moment before releasing the smoke in a thick, intoxicating cloud.

_Ben Solo is a goddamn hunk._

Her eyes kept straying to Solo as he swam laps with clean, focused precision.  _He's a good swimmer_.  _That would explain the arm muscles_ , Rey noted idly. _Aaaand, the rest of it…_

 

Ben dove into the pool and vowed he would swim laps until a certain part of his anatomy settled the fuck down. When he saw her dive into the pool wearing that skimpy white bikini, it was over. He should have just turned around, walked back into his room, jerked off, and gone to sleep.

But he just couldn’t resist hanging around to see what she’d look like coming up out of the water, soaking wet.

And now he deserved every bit of discomfort he was feeling, because, damn if she wasn’t the sexiest thing he’d ever laid eyes on.

_You brought this on yourself, Solo._

Every time he turned to start a new lap, he surreptitiously checked to see if she was still sitting in her spot.

_She still there? Yep._

_You still have a hard-on? Yep. Keep swimming._

When Rey first approached him backstage that morning, Ben had fully intended to take the high road and be polite. If he hadn’t been so tongue-tied at the sight of her in that sparkly gold not-a-dress, he probably could have started things off on a better note.

But she’d gotten the first word in, and it was obvious when she’d called him _Dream Killer_ the intent to play nice only went one way. So, Ben immediately changed tactics and fired back at her.

And then his co-star pretty much ignored him throughout the rest of the day’s filming and auditions.

He wished he had been able to ignore her as easily, but no. Her lighthearted replies on camera and her obvious disdain for him off-camera were only emphasizing the things Ben was starting to become incredibly attracted to.

Her eyes sparkled every time a new audition came to the stage, and she was genuinely kind to each and every person. Her voice was warm and low, still maintaining the vestiges of an English accent, although Ben knew she’d come to L.A. when she was younger.

The fact she was withholding that voice and kindness and sparkling eyes from him made him irritable.

She was just so…pretty and young, and _happy_. And that gold thing she was wearing only increased her appeal – Ben was having trouble keeping his eyes off her.

Ben felt some impatience with Rey – they were, for all intents and purposes, supposed to be working together. Finn did a great job covering for the fact Rey and Ben were not really speaking to each other or interacting.

Finn, for his part, was very comfortable giving truthful feedback to the auditioners. Ben found his respect for Finn increase with each new audition, and he felt relieved when it was Finn’s turn to make the final call for people who Ben knew shouldn’t be going forward.

 _At least one of us has our shit together,_ Ben fumed, as he finally stopped swimming and pulled himself out of the pool.

He wrapped a towel around his waist and used another to rub down his chest and hair. And then he caught a whiff of … _is that pot?_

His head whipped around to where Rey was sitting, and yes, she was holding something in her hand, taking a drag…blowing the smoke right at him with a saucy pucker of her pink lips.

_Goddammit._

He marched over to her and grabbed the joint from her hand, dropping it on the patio and grinding it under his bare heel.

“That will be enough of that,” he glared at her.

She merely gazed back at him calmly. _No. Not calm. She’s fucking stoned._

A mirthful little laugh bubbled up from her chest and escaped in a charming giggle, followed by a hiccup.

Ben had to will himself not to react to that seductive sound. He didn’t have another half hour of swimming laps in him…

“You know there’s a morality clause in our contracts, right?” Ben said harshly as he fought the urge to either shake her or kiss her silly. He swiveled his head around looking for his uncle.

He figured Luke would definitely disapprove of Rey smoking pot and would probably find a way to make it Ben’s fault…

“Calm down, it’s not like I’m smoking crack in some back alley,” Rey smirked at him. “It’s fucking weed, and you’re not my daddy, so kindly fuck off.”

She flapped her hand at him, but she was too high to disguise the way her eyes roamed over his half-naked body. The feminine awareness he saw there made his dick twitch with renewed interest.

And then, the little dog on the chair next to her whirred at him like a tiny rotary phone, emitting a series of yipping barks that set his teeth on edge.

“Yeah, you tell him, Beebee,” Rey sang in a baby-talk voice, glancing fondly at the dog before turning her glazed-over stare back to Ben.

And before Ben did something incredibly stupid, like turn her over his knee and give her sweetly rounded butt a few hard smacks, he spun around and stormed back to his room.

As he stalked away he heard Rey coo in that babyish voice, _“See? You scared away that big old grouch, yes you did! Good boy, Beebee._ _Yes, you’re my good baby, yes you are!_ ”

 

_Temper, Ben. Get ahold of yourself._

Ben was not amused.

He walked straight to the bar in the living room of his suite and poured himself three fingers of scotch, swigging down half of it before considering what he should do.

Normally, he wouldn’t give a shit about a little bit of weed. But KRM needed to rebrand itself as a clean-cut, family-friendly label, and _American Stars_ – and everything connected with it – was supposed to be the saving grace that would pull him and his company from the precipice of financial ruin upon which it was currently perched.

Nobody but himself, Luke Skywalker, and Snoke knew the full extent of Ben’s dilemma. Ben’s recent divorce had just been finalized weeks ago, and the media, until recently, had been annihilating him over it _daily_.

And now he’d hitched his wagon to the stars of Luke and Rey and Finn, in a manner of speaking. Ben _had_ to play by the rules if he wanted to maintain solvency. Snoke was watching him like a vulture and Ben was loath to make another deal that would further intertwine their business interests.

On a normal day, playing by the rules was difficult enough for Ben. But with his company at stake? Ben was prepared to be downright pious if he had to. KRM was too important to him, on too many levels.

He’d be a fucking angel if it killed him.

And there was no way Little Miss Scavenger was going to fuck things up for him by acting like a spoiled little brat…

He heard a loud burst of laughter from the patio area and observed from the shadows of his room as Finn Storm approached Rey with a bottle of something and two glasses.

Rey’s robe had slipped off one shoulder and Ben could see the peachy, creamy tones of her skin reflected in the soft glow of the pool lighting…he wondered if she was dating Finn and felt an uncharacteristic burst of jealousy at the handsome young man.

He watched as Finn poured her a drink and one for himself and they toasted to something that sounded like, “Yeah, let’s party!” Another burst of hysterical laughter spouted from Rey and the sound went straight to Ben's gut.

He slammed down the rest of his scotch and went back for more.

_Fuck, is it really going to be like this for the next three months?_

 

It was actually much worse the second day.

They had to leave the hotel at 5:00 a.m. and Ben was feeling worse for wear from the scotch he’d steadily poured down his throat until well after midnight.

As they clambered into the SUV that would take them to the Olympia Theater for their 7:00 a.m. curtain call, Ben realized immediately he was in for a painfully long day.

Rey had insisted on bringing her ratty little dog with her and she wore dark sunglasses and a baggy gray sweat suit. She grunted a “humph,” at him in answer to his grumbled “good morning” and proceeded to stare out the window. Her obvious hangover only emphasized Ben’s own slightly throbbing headache.

He could hardly yell at her over it when he was in similar straits.

The only person in good spirits and not wearing sunglasses and a bitchy expression was Finn.

Ben felt his mood sink into long-suffering agitation which only increased as their ride bumped them along to the theater.

It probably hadn’t helped that the dog yipped non-stop on the ride over. Each high-pitched yelp hammered a spike of pain directly through Ben’s earhole into his brain.

When Ben finally – _politely_ – asked if Rey had a muzzle or sleeping medication or something to shut the damn thing up, well… he admitted in hindsight his query might have been a touch insensitive.

Rey’s reaction had been to dramatically clutch the little creature to her chest with a moue of disgust for Ben and a scandalized look at Finn as if to ask, _“Can you believe this guy?”_

Ben rolled his eyes behind his aviators and shook his head.

_God, it’s not like I’m planning on frying up the damn thing for breakfast…_

Rey then proceeded to speak in that god-awful baby voice to the dog the whole rest of the way. So, both of Ben’s earholes were feeling severely abused before they even got to the auditions.

Where they would _definitely_ be abused for the next twelve straight hours.

_Fucking perfect._

 

When they all met up backstage again, right before seven o’clock – Ben having fortified himself with several large cups of black coffee and an aspirin – things had calmed a bit.

Ben wore similar attire to yesterday’s – he wasn’t there to dress up – and Finn was wearing a band t-shirt, jeans, and leather jacket. Poe stood nearby –  immaculate in a tux even at this ungodly early hour – conversing animatedly with the camera crew.

Finn strolled away to enthusiastically join their conversation, and Ben decided on the spot he hated morning people. It just wasn’t normal. Mornings should be for brooding in silence until the rest of the world woke up, preferably with a pot of hot coffee and quiet and a good book. Or at least a newspaper that didn’t have inflammatory headlines about him and his ex-wife splashed across the front page...  

Rey was nowhere to be seen, but they still had a few minutes before call time. Ben was honestly enjoying the relative peace when he heard the unmistakable sound of high heels clicking his way. He tried, he really tried not to even look at her, but he couldn’t help himself.

His tongue almost fell out of his mouth when he saw her, and he felt a deep flush climb up his neck all the way to his forehead.

Rey had changed from her sweat suit to a slightly revised version of a schoolgirl uniform.

Her words to him last night slammed into his mind – _It’s fucking weed, and you’re not my daddy, so kindly fuck off_ – and Ben couldn’t help but feel she was doing this on purpose.

The skirt was cut short, but not too short – and the white button-up shirt was loose and modest, although Ben felt it might be unbuttoned just one button too many. Nevertheless, it covered every inch of her back and torso. She had a tie loosely draped around her neck, and it was cute, not sexy, even though it called his attention back to her pert cleavage.

He _definitely_ did not have a thing for schoolgirls or any girl even approaching underage…but Rey…she looked so…

Ben did his best to swallow his tongue before Connix had to scrape it off the floor with a dustpan.

If Rey ever actually meant it when she told him to fuck off, he would definitely do it with her wearing _that._

Thigh-high, black boots clung to her long legs and kissed the hem of her red and black plaid skirt, giving just a hint of bare thigh. The edges of the skirt flipped around her legs as she walked.

The skirt itself wasn’t sexy at all, it was the idea behind it. _Easy access._ Ben had the vague idea he would just have to run a hand up her bare leg, move aside some flimsy undergarment, and push his finger right in…

And, her hair. Her hair had been parted down the middle and pulled into two loose ponytails, tied with red ribbons on either side.

It was at once adorable and … _erotic_. All Ben could think about was what it would feel like to slowly pull those ribbons from her hair as she knelt in front of him…

Ben seriously needed to talk to somebody about her outfits.

Oblivious to his mental descent into the gutter, Rey stood next to him and said smartly, “Huh. I see you dressed up again today. Do you have an unlimited supply of black t-shirts, or is that the same one from yesterday?”

Ben immediately felt like reaching over and choking her with that damned tie.

He’d been about to reply when Poe came over with Connix and told them they’d be on in thirty seconds.


	3. What Girl?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben is feeling the angst and it hasn't even been two full days. They all go out to a club.

**Miami, FL –**

The day’s filming had been pretty much torture for Ben, as he sat through hour upon hour of auditions in a red haze of lust.

Rey had been doing her best to ignore him again, but Ben wasn’t having it today. _American Stars_ needed the ratings, and for that, the audience needed to see the judges perform just as much as the singing. So, he was really trying.

He was truly making a monumental effort not to lose his shit as Rey unknowingly did everything she could to twist him into one, giant, horny, wound-up mess.

Judging was tricky and a lot of mental work. Many of the auditioners would share a bit of their life stories ahead of time, which would be edited a bit before the broadcast. Each new auditionee also had a short bio, which was handed to the judges prior to the singing.

For what felt like the hundredth time that hour, Ben scanned the next bio, trying not to notice Rey loudly slurping whatever was in the lidded cup she was holding. Or the way her tongue pushed out, seeking the straw…or the way her reddened lips wrapped around it before she took a slow pull, cheeks hollowing, throat contracting as she swallowed…

She caught him looking from the corner of her eye and lifted an eyebrow at him in question.

“What do you think of the next one?” Ben asked in a failed attempt to distract himself from the licentious direction his thoughts had taken.

Thankfully she showed a bit of mercy and answered his question.

“Rose Tico?” Rey said, perking up. “I like her bio.”

“Why’s that?” Ben asked, genuinely curious.

“She’s seventeen and an orphan, raised by her older sister, no formal training,” Rey answered after a long look at Ben. “She reminds me of me.”

Ben felt a guilty push of conscience as he remembered their confrontation in New York five years ago. He kept his face carefully blank and nodded.

Poe Dameron was in fine form that day and when Rose came onto the stage, Poe was rousing the audience into a frenzy. _He must have heard this one at pre-auditions_ , Ben thought.

Although they were filming live, certain portions of the auditions had to be cut before the actual broadcast. Poe interacted with many of the stronger applicants ahead of time to get interview clips for later shows. That way when someone won the competition, they would have material to flash back to for the winner’s final reel.

 _Miss Tico looks nervous_ , Ben observed, keeping his face a mask of severity.

“Hi, there!” exclaimed Finn into his mic. Finn gave her an engaging smile since it was his turn to kick off the next audition. He would ask a series of brief introductory questions and then invite the auditionee to perform. It wasn’t really scripted, but each of the judges had to follow a pattern of taking turns.

Ben was happy to sit back and scrutinize this latest audition. Most people assumed Ben Solo hated this part, the judging. His noticeable sarcasm and frustration with poorly performed auditions would lead to that assumption, Ben knew.

But secretly, Ben liked it. He liked listening to the range, tone, and quality of voice, trying to understand the song choice, trying to figure out why someone might wear the outfit they wore, or just what made them tick.

He liked finding new talent. It was… _fun_. He was good at it.

And it was about the only part of his job he could rely on to distract him from the smoking-hot sex goddess sitting three feet away.

Ben turned his attention back to the stage. The young lady onstage looked anxious, but she was doing a good job of maintaining an illusion of confidence. At second glance, Ben sensed a bit of steel in her.

She was dressed simply and modestly, and Ben approved. He’d witnessed too many hopefuls try to get by on their looks alone, and he could always see through that ploy immediately. He made no mistake in letting those ones know he was only interested in talent.

Rose had shoulder-length, black hair, which she wore loose around her face. Her makeup enhanced her dark, almond-shaped eyes and rounded cheeks. She was cute.

 _People will like her,_ Ben mused critically _._

She was very petite, but Ben knew small people often could belt out music just as well as anyone. He would see soon enough.

Finn finished questioning her and Rey gave her an encouraging smile. Ben continued to slouch in his chair, blank-faced, evaluating everything about the girl.

He ignored the dirty look Rey threw him. She probably figured he wasn’t paying attention or wasn’t taking this seriously. But he was.

Music piped into the theater and Ben immediately knew it was all wrong. Rose started singing. She sounded good, but…Ben had heard better.

Still. There had been something.

After an embarrassingly short time, he held up his hand and said, “That’s enough.”

Rey and Finn turned to him in shock, but Ben’s attention was focused on the young woman on the stage. Her head bowed, and she looked upset.

Ben addressed her directly and honestly. “Miss Tico. I saw you last season, didn’t I?”

Rose gulped and nodded, holding the microphone up and giving him a tremulous, “Yes, sir.”

Ben remembered her. She had picked the wrong song last time, too.

“I remember. Do you recall what happened last time?” Of course, she would.

“You said my song choice was bad,” Rose answered, straightening her spine.

“It was all wrong for you,” Ben agreed frankly. "I think you picked today's song to try to impress the judges, not based on your actual skill."

“Ben!” Rey glared at him.

Rey was going to mother-hen this one, Ben knew it. He shot her a shut-the-fuck-up-and-let-me-do-my-job stare before Rey could start tearing into him.

Rey’s lips clapped shut and she sat back. For just a hint of a second, Ben felt a thrill that he could actually control her with just that look… _something to think about later…_ before he turned his attention back to the stage.

“Miss Tico, I like you, but I can’t let you through unless you have the chops to make it in this competition,” Ben said harshly. “Which includes your ability to make choices appropriate for your voice and style.”

Rey gasped in outrage next to him.

“Do you have something else you can sing?” he asked before Rey could interrupt again.

Ben never did this. He never gave second chances. It usually just prolonged the moment of painful truth that the audition was no good, and it gave the person on the stage a false sense of hope. But, in this case…

_She’s got something, Ben. Listen to your instincts._

“Um. Yes, sir.” Rose blinked back the tears which had been forming in her eyes and again Ben was struck with admiration for the young lady’s courage.

Most people would have melted into a puddle of nerves at his unsympathetic candor. Which was why he was being so harsh – testing the new prospect’s resolve was an important part of the audition process, and Ben was not going to waste his time on someone who couldn’t handle pressure.

“Do you need a minute?” Finn asked not unkindly from the other end of the judges’ table. However, Finn too kept a straight, serious face.

Finn understood what was happening, and Ben appreciated it. Miss Tico did not need an overprotective nanny right now. She needed to prove to the judges and to herself she could do this.

“No, thank you, I’m ready,” Rose said firmly, taking a breath. Ben’s respect for the young woman went up another notch.

And as a completely different song filtered into the hall, she began singing. Ben watched and listened intently, and this time he waited until the song was over.

When she was done, Rey clapped her hands enthusiastically, and Finn was smiling. The audience was cheering wildly, but it was of little significance to Ben. They would cheer at anything.

Rose stood onstage quietly, her dark eyes shining with hope.

Ben waited until everyone settled down, pressing his lips together in thoughtful consideration…

…and, finally, he dropped the tough guy act to smile at his latest find.

Because Miss Tico was going to have a new career. He knew it.

 

It was time to break for lunch when Rey tore into him.

“Why were you such an asshole to her?” Rey hissed as she piled food onto a plate from the catered buffet table backstage.

Ben had been an asshole all morning – to lots of people – but he knew Rey was referring to Rose Tico. He sighed, turning to her. He couldn’t help it as his eyes briefly dropped once again to Rey’s cleavage, faintly outlined in her white, button-up shirt and tie.

Then he looked her in the eye and asked bluntly, “Tell me how it would have been fair to get her hopes up? Or to baby her and find out later she couldn’t handle the pressure of performing?”

Rey blinked at him as understanding dawned in her wide, hazel eyes. 

He went on, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from her mouth, “How am I an asshole for being realistic? For making her prove herself? You of all people should know how hard it is to make it in this industry. If someone can’t cut it in their audition, how is it fair to let them think they can make it through everything else that’s coming?”

“It makes sense, I guess,” Rey breathed. She was staring back at him with a bewildered expression. “You just were so … cold about it.”

There was nothing cold about him right now. A hot rush of desire punched through him as she unconsciously bit her bottom lip. _Ah, fuck. I am not going to make it through the day if she keeps doing that..._

Ben turned back to the food spread out in front of him and shrugged. “It’s your job to be the nice one. Good cop, bad cop, remember?”

Finn overheard Ben’s last comment and joked, “Which cop am I?”

Ben felt a little green monster dig its claws into the back of his neck when he saw how Rey smiled at Finn. He was going to break a tooth from clenching his jaw so often.

“You, my dear friend, are the referee!” Rey giggled. Finn puffed out his chest in mock arrogance and made a kiss at Rey.

“Go to your corner, Baby!” Finn pointed with mock severity at her before they both burst into laughter. Ben slunk away to eat his lunch alone.

However, Rey and Finn followed him to the seating area backstage, oblivious to his desire for solitude, and proceeded to regale each other with private jokes from high school.

He’d worked with Finn years ago and KRM had even produced his last album, which went platinum before Finn started getting into acting. But he hadn’t realized Finn and Rey had been friends for so long.

He watched Rey demolish her sandwich and salad with all the grace of an excavator tearing through a condemned building. It was sexy as hell the way she licked her fingers and ate with such obvious gusto.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and searched his brain for a distraction before finally asking, “So, how did you two meet?”

 

Ben was looking at her now with that same burning look from last night and it seemed to sink right into her. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from his.

Rey tried not to remember how Ben Solo looked last night when he’d climbed out of the pool dripping wet, inky-dark hair slicked back from his face, muscles shining from the soft glow of the pool lights, breathing just a bit heavily after his swim…when he’d wrapped a towel around his waist it had done absolutely nothing to decrease the sex appeal.

Then he’d marched over to her and haughtily tried to tell her off for smoking weed. He’d been pissed. Rey had been surprised and fascinated at how his parsimonious attitude had mingled with some kind of inexplicable fury... _Fuck, he’s hot._

“Well, we met on our first day of school at Coruscant High,” Finn said, completely ignorant of Rey and Ben’s mutually charged stare.

_And I have a very good idea of what he is packing around in those jeans of his…_

Rey forced her attention back to the conversation at hand and remarked casually, “Finn helped me out, actually. I was the new kid and a few of the girls were being catty – called me a no-talent nobody from nowhere –”

Ben’s eyebrow lifted, otherwise showing no reaction whatsoever at her revelation… Rey’s stomach churned uncomfortably as she remembered New York five years ago and the words he’d thrown at her before she’d tossed his drink in his face.

_“You’re nothing. You come from nothing, a nobody from nowhere…”_

“– and so, Finn stepped in and told them off. He said I had tons of talent and I’d be a _big deal_ someday. Then we fake-dated for a few months until everyone realized how great I am.”

Finn chuckled. “That’s right! I almost forgot we’d done that!”

Ben _hmphed_ and ate a bite of turkey sandwich.

Rey suddenly felt a strong urge to make Ben Solo express something other than mild curiosity.

Rey laughed too and tossed her napkin at Finn. “Best three months of your life!”

She was laying it on just a little thick, but Finn got it. His dark eyes glowed at her mischievously.

“So, you two never…?” Ben queried conversationally. He looked like he’d asked the question more from obligation than interest.

For some reason, it pissed her off, just a bit.

She turned to Finn with a sappy expression on her face and traced a finger down Finn’s smooth cheek, knowing he would play along. “Didn’t we Finn? Wasn’t I the best girlfriend you ever had?”

Finn rolled his eyes and gave her an equally sappy grin, “Oh, Peanut, you know you’re the only girl I’ll ever love!”

She leaned into Finn, making sure to flash a bit of thigh in Solo’s direction.

They rubbed their noses against each other, then broke off laughing and smiling into each other's eyes.  

After that demonstration, Rey could now definitely feel something a little hot and resentful radiating from Ben…and she felt a little smug and kind of evil.

_Good._

 

Ben was going to punch someone. Or something.

When she’d leaned over to nuzzle Finn Storm’s nose with her own, her skirt had ridden up to reveal an almost scandalous amount of thigh.

He stood abruptly and excused himself before he gave in to the green-eyed little creature digging its talons into him. He was a hair’s breadth from doing something momentously stupid.

Another burst of raucous laughter from Finn and Rey followed him out, and Ben congratulated himself for not flipping over the catering table in a jealous rage on his way to his dressing room.

The rest of the day passed in what was becoming a very familiar haze of lust and near-constant semi-arousal.

Fortunately, as a producer, he got to stay late to go over final details. By the time he was back at the hotel, it was after one o’clock in the morning and he was able to pass out from exhaustion.

The next day would be early but short, since auditions were officially over. They would spend one more night in Miami before a quick flight to Atlanta the day after.

 

Ben woke early to the sound of room service bringing his pot of black coffee and a selection of newspapers. It was dead quiet, and he sighed happily as he took the tray into the kitchen. _Perfect_.

He lounged on a barstool at the counter, half-dressed, sipping his coffee.

While flipping through the papers, he was pleased to note his divorce was not mentioned anywhere. Then he stopped cold at one, then another, then the next headline.

_“America’s Sweethearts?”_

_“Newest It Couple”_

_“American Stars’ Latest Romance”_

Each paper had printed the same blurry photo of Rey and Finn rubbing noses, staring at each other with googly-eyes, with Rey practically in Finn’s lap as her skirt rode up her thigh…

It had obviously been taken during lunch break yesterday, backstage. Ben very clearly remembered that moment.

One of the crew had apparently snapped a photo or some paparazzi had managed to get past security.

He bit the inside of his cheek so hard, he tasted blood.

Ben stared at the papers and fury washed over him. It was bad enough he was now being confronted with a possible scandal for the show.

But he also had to admit to himself he was a jealous piece of shit. Because he wanted to _kill_ Finn. Or at least beat the poor kid into a bloody pulp.

 

Rey was sure her plan to drive Solo insane was working.

As she got dressed for the club that evening, she recalled how edgy he’d been all day. How satisfying it had been to watch the tips of his ears turn red every time she innocently bit her lips or ran a hand over her hip.

She’d even emboldened herself to brush against him a few times, which had gotten the best reaction – a hissed inhale followed by an awkwardly polite apology, and then a darkly burning stare that melted her insides and made her heart skip a beat.

She’d seen the morning papers, and, while Finn just rolled his eyes, she worried their so-called relationship would only cause problems for the show.

But it would also cause some problems for Ben Solo. And Rey was totally fine with _that_.

In fact, it only made her want to do more.

 

Going to the club with Rey and Finn was probably not Ben’s best decision of all time.

No. It was a _terrible_ decision. Definitely in the top five worst ones he’d ever made.

For one, the paparazzi swarmed them the minute they stepped out of the car. That alone made Ben’s senses rattle nervously – the flashing cameras, the aggressive questions, the pushing, shoving masses of people, and the general hint of panic and scandal all lent a frenzied hostility to the atmosphere.

They were particularly focused on Rey and Finn, but Finn did a good job of fending them off her for the most part, while Ben played clean-up hitter, offering a dangerous glare to anyone who got too close to them.

The club itself wasn’t too crowded, but there were still way too many people, in Ben’s opinion.

He could have stayed back at the hotel and just drank himself into oblivion. But no, he had to listen to his fucking uncle.

This was absolutely Luke’s fault.

The music thumped around him and Ben wished he were anywhere but that club. He went straight to the bar and ordered himself a glass of their best _Johnny Walker_.

Ben took a sip and thought about the morning he’d had. He was starting to believe Rey was trying to drive him insane.

She’d been especially friendly to Ben, which weirded him out – he thought she hated him. To make things even more confusing, every time he turned around she was doting on Finn like a … like a girlfriend.

Ben glared at the two of them on the dance floor. They were having the time of their lives, by the look of it. It did not escape Ben’s notice that he was almost a decade older than those two.

He felt an echo of guilty conscience reverberate through him, as he remembered everything his uncle had told him earlier that day. Rey had been through a lot more than he’d realized, and Ben owed her an apology. 

_Especially for New York._

His eyes were drawn to her as he took another sip of scotch. But watching her only made him completely lose his train of thought.

Rey looked like she’d just walked off the cover of a lingerie shoot and had forgotten to put on the rest of her clothes.

She wore tiny hot-pink shorts in metallic fabric and a black bustier that Ben could clearly see through her skin-tight, long-sleeved, netted top. She’d opted to go bare-legged, wearing high-heeled, strappy, pink sandals that made her legs look miles long…

His jaw clenched as Finn approached the bar with a friendly smile.

“Hey, man, you don’t look like you’re having any fun!” Finn said, catching the bartender’s eye and ordering a vodka soda.

Ben slugged back the rest of his drink and muttered, “I’m not.”

“Why not? Everything okay?” Finn’s open concern made Ben feel like the biggest jerk on the planet.

Ben was going to have to _try_. He was going to have to play nice. He’d vowed he would be an angel if he had to, and alienating Finn Storm was not something he – or _American Stars_ – could afford.

“Yeah. I’m just worried about the show,” Ben said off-handedly.

“Oh. Because of the headlines? About me and Rey?” Finn asked, frowning. “Hey, man, _nothing_ to worry about there. Really.”

Ben froze. _What?_

Finn went on, “Rey and I – we were just playing around…actually…”

“Actually, _what?_ ” Ben asked a little more intensely than he’d meant to.

Finn looked back at him in astonishment. “Uh. I’m gay?”

_What?_

“What?” How did Ben not know this?

“Yeah. Super gay. I thought you knew. I’m…kind of a big deal…it isn't exactly a secret. Hasn't been for a while...” Finn gave him a look before going on, “I’m actually surprised that story even made it into the papers – I thought _everyone_ knew,” Finn replied in genuine surprise and then choked on a laugh.

Ben glared at him, although he did feel slightly relieved that he no longer wanted to beat the living shit out of Finn.

Finn must have seen the look in his eyes and interpreted correctly. “You didn’t think? Rey and me?” Finn started laughing in earnest.

The bartender slid another glass of scotch to Ben without him having to ask.

“What’s so funny?” Ben asked, eyes drifting back to the girl on the dance floor, who was currently shifting her hips back and forth in the most mesmerizing motions…and it was attracting a lot of attention. 

 _That little tease._ She had been playing with him this whole time… Ben threw back his drink and narrowed his eyes at the smooth burn of the alcohol.

“Aw, you are in deep shit, dude.” Finn’s eyes were dancing with humor.

 _Yeah._ Ben knew. He kept staring at his nemesis, trying to ignore Finn in favor of concentrating on _her._

“Can I tell you a secret?” Finn asked in a conversational undertone.

“Please do,” Ben said politely, still staring at Rey as several realizations plowed through him.

“I think that girl likes you.”

“What girl?” Ben said absently, eyes riveted to the sight of Rey sticking her butt out and dipping her hips up and down in hypnotic undulations.

Finn pointed to Rey with his drink. “ _That_ girl. And I think she’s playing you, man.”

“Thanks for telling me,” Ben fumed.

Finn took a sip of his drink with a knowing grin, apparently enjoying Ben’s reaction.

Rey's dancing was giving Ben heart palpitations. She was looking over her shoulder at some jerkoff who was dancing way too close, and Ben wanted to grab her by the hair like a caveman and drag her to some dark corner and have his way with her.

_Playing me. Oh, Rey, that is a really bad idea._

Ben realized there was now no place in the world he would rather be. And he’d never felt less angelic.

He stood abruptly and yanked off his jacket, which he handed to Finn.

_Good thing I know how to play, too._

Finn just shook his head and laughed, calling after Ben, “Play nice!”

_Not a fucking chance._

Ben prowled onto the dance floor with all the lethal intent of a predator going in for the kill.


	4. ...I Feel It, Too

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben gets some advice from his uncle and takes matters into his own hands with Rey...

**Earlier that day, Miami, FL –**

After filming the final clips for the first episode, Ben knew he had to meet with his uncle. They needed to discuss details of the first episode wrap-up, then plan for Atlanta.

Stepping into Luke’s suite was like entering a different world. The lights were always dimmed notoriously low, and the air smelled like burnt sage and incense. While the hotel frowned on flammables in the rooms, Luke always managed to charm an exception out of management so he could create “an environment conducive to reflection and introspection.”

Ben sighed.

Luke had an arrangement of salt lamps in various shapes and sizes plugged in all around the room to remove negative energy from the air. Luke's collection of Tibetan singing bowls – gifts from the last Dalai Lama – were displayed on the living room's coffee table. Some kind of ethereal music with lots of bells and chanting and water sounds was playing softly in the background.

Ben shook his head and approached the man sitting in a yoga pose cross-legged on the floor.

Luke gave no indication that he heard Ben enter the room.

Ben sighed again.

If Luke had just started meditating, this could be a while. Ben knew better than to try to interrupt, sure if he did Luke would only punish him by adding a few extra minutes to his meditation time.

Ben wandered into the kitchen to see what Uncle Luke had to eat. His uncle was a vegan, but he still maintained a well-stocked fridge for guests, something Ben had appreciated since childhood.

Sure enough, Ben found all the fixings for sandwiches and set about making himself a couple of roast beef and provolone. Extra horseradish, no sprouts. 

Ben was halfway through his second sandwich when Luke wandered into the kitchen with a beatific smile and a mild greeting.

Ben’s uncle was much shorter than Ben but somehow Luke’s charisma made up for the lack of height and physical bulk. Luke had piercing blue eyes and an easy laugh, but Ben knew it concealed a shrewd mind and a cutting sarcasm borne from many years of hard-hitting business deals in a cutthroat industry.

Luke's long, gray-streaked hair and beard were usually groomed somewhere between what might suit a cranky hermit and a fantasy novel wizard. Today’s version was closer to hermit – a bit on the short side, but raggedy as if Luke hadn’t been bothered to trim it for a few days.

Ben ran a hand over his own unshaven face, realizing he probably should shave before they left for Atlanta the next day. Definitely before they started filming the next set of auditions.

Luke began digging through the fridge and cupboards, setting out a strange assortment of things Ben knew were going to end up in his uncle's daily smoothie – Uncle Luke’s smoothies were infamously bad.

“So, how are things on set?” Luke asked, pulling apart a few large kale leaves and stuffing them into the blender.

“I think I found someone really good. Like she could win this whole thing,” Ben answered, thinking of Rose Tico’s audition.

“Really? That fast? Great!” Luke set up a cutting board and found a knife from one of the drawers. “How about the other judges?”

“Ugh.” Where did Ben even start? He decided to just spill it. “Not great. Rey Niima has an attitude problem.”

“Really?” Luke looked up in surprise – he was now chopping up some kind of bright orange root that stained the tips of his fingers neon yellow. “I saw the footage, and it looked like she is perfect for the show. Very bubbly, enthusiastic…great instincts on the judging…”

Ben agreed but kept going. His uncle was probably the one person in the world in whom Ben could confide…for the most part.

“She’s good on camera," Ben admitted. "But, she is a loose cannon. Yesterday morning she showed up hungover. And you know I caught her smoking pot the night before?” Ben felt a twinge of guilt like he was tattling. Which he was. He was totally tattling on Rey to his uncle.

Ben’s pride took a bit of a hit at the realization... Still, Luke needed to know everything going on if he was producing the show with Ben. And Luke _had_ asked.

Luke nodded agreeably and poured some kind of grayish liquid from a carton into the blender.

“Yeah, she told me she needed more _grass_ because you quote ‘had a hissy fit’ over it…” Luke threw some chopped celery into his concoction along with a handful of what looked like actual grass, like from a lawn…

Ben’s stomach turned a little.

“Aren’t you worried about the morality clause?” Ben asked, trying to drag his eyes away from the increasingly disgusting contents of the blender.

Luke scooped a spoonful of solidified coconut oil from a jar and whacked the spoon on the edge of the pitcher, forcing the clump to plunk from the spoon into the pitcher with a nasty squelch.

“Nope. Morality is a gray area. As long as we get ratings, frankly, I don’t give a crap what she gets up to behind the scenes.”

Ben raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t realized his uncle was so … morally flexible? Chill? This was definitely a different version of Luke than the guy who had practically raised him…

Luke threw a handful of seeds or nuts or something weird on top of the grass and fixed the lid to the top of the pitcher.

“Yeah, to be honest, it was me who gave her the stuff in the first place…she needed to chill out,” Luke admitted before flipping the switch.

Ben fought between annoyance and mild disgust as the stuff inside the glass pitcher was transformed into a greenish-gray sludge. After a minute, Luke proceeded to pour the repulsive mixture into a tall glass. He took a hearty swig and smacked his lips, smoothie dripping from the tips of his mustache in thick droplets.

Ben’s stomach flipped over in disgust at the sight. He was going to gag, he knew it. The sandwiches he'd scarfed down churned in his gut.

 _I should have eaten something to settle my stomach before this,_ thought Ben, unable to wipe the revulsion from his face. 

Luke’s eyes twinkled. _He knows he’s grossing me out. Hippie asshole._

“Maybe you just need to chill out, too, Ben. You want a joint? I got the best Granddaddy Purple around here somewhere…” Luke drifted off looking around vaguely while he took another swig of his smoothie.

“No!” Ben bit out. “I don’t need you to be everybody’s fucking pot distributor… I – I need to know what to do about _her_.”

“Well, she’s got a lot on her mind,” Luke said mysteriously. “She’s been through a lot.”

 _How does being an internationally-famous pop star and multiple-platinum music artist make your life hard?_ Ben thought resentfully. This thought was immediately followed by a twinge of guilt. He knew damn well how tough a person had to be to make it in the industry. The sensation of guilt expanded as he recalled how badly things had gone down in New York five years ago. 

That night had just been all kinds of wrong. Ben had just had a horrible fight with his wife and had been drowning his sorrows in scotch and resentment… His temper had been on a hair-trigger, and when his next big thing – Rey Niima – stormed into the restaurant and told him she didn’t want to work with anyone associated with Alford Snoke, including Ben Solo…well, Ben had reacted impulsively with a few very unkind statements.

He could tell Rey had obviously been high on something or drunk or both. She had been in no shape to make the kinds of rational decisions that would affect her – and Ben’s – future.

But her mind had been made up.

In a haze of rage and frustration, Ben had retaliated instantly. He’d called her a spoiled, stupid little girl. Told her she was nothing. _A nobody from nowhere._

The combination of their tempers and those words had been like holding a lit match to a stick of dynamite, culminating in his drink being flung in his face and a months-long dive into the deep end of public relations hell.  

With effort, Ben’s redirected his thoughts back to focus on what Luke was muttering to him.

“…Rey’s never had anything come easily to her. When she came to Skywalker Records, well, she told me a lot about her past. Told me a lot of things,” Luke slurped another swig of smoothie and Ben gulped uncomfortably.

“Like what?” Ben asked. He could try to understand, now, if not back then.

“That’s not my story to tell. But, Ben. You should know she had her reasons for not going with KRM. I think you should try to make it right,” Luke said quietly. “If not for her, then for yourself. And the show. You need the ratings.”

_We all need the fucking ratings, Uncle Luke. You have no idea who is waiting in the wings to destroy us both if this goes sideways._

Ben heaved a sigh of frustration and pled with his uncle in one last-ditch effort to get some sympathy or some kind of helpful advice. “It’s fucking _warfare_ with her. She is stubborn as hell and reckless and … Finn Storm is definitely on her side, and we can’t afford to piss him off. I don’t know what to do.”

_And I’m pretty sure she is trying her best to turn me inside out with lust…_

Luke evaluated his nephew for a long time. His sharp blue gaze held an endless kind of wisdom that could only come with age and many, many … unique experiences. Ben felt the full weight of that stare and knew, just for a minute, his uncle was sorry for a lot of things.

Finally, Luke raised his eyebrows and said, “If you’re looking for advice, I don’t know how much help I’ll be. But if it were me, I’d say if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

 

**Later that evening, at the club…**

Rey was having a blast on the dance floor. The best part was she knew – she could _feel_ – Ben Solo’s eyes on her from across the club.

_Poor guy’s been staring all night. Good._

She knew she looked hot and she was pretty sure she’d have him drooling soon. She dipped her hips again in a seductive shimmy, looking everywhere but in the direction of that dark-eyed glare.

_Eat your heart out, Solo._

She was so into that powerful feeling of _winning_ , of having an edge over her adversary – finally – she did not see the object of her victory take off his jacket and crack his neck. She didn’t see him prowl onto the dance floor until he was eight feet away.

And then she didn’t see him, so much as _feel_ his presence.

Rey had been grinding her hips on some random guy's leg, grinning and laughing wildly at the gratitude and amazement mingled on her dance partner’s face – _yes, I know who I am, honey, and after tonight you can go brag to all your buddies about dancing with Rey Niima_ – but the guy’s face, it was all wrong. Too young, too carefree, too eager. Too… not Ben’s.

The music changed from an upbeat thump-thump-thump to something a bit more … primal.

Rey turned her head and lost a breath at what she saw. Ben Solo was walking right to her.

The sight of his loose-hipped gait, dark, knowing eyes glued on hers, broad shoulders cutting through the tangled maze of twisting limbs, gyrating torsos, and flashing multi-colored lights almost brought her to her knees. Nothing could have prepared her for the outright sexual appeal of Ben Solo coming at her like a hungry panther...

And she knew he was coming for her. A chill of excitement crept down her spine, even as she felt an instinctive urge to … run …

But. Ben stopped five feet away, swept his hot gaze over her body and flashed a cocky grin at her before he turned to some nearby blonde in a skin-tight, electric blue dress, and swung his hips at the woman in a move so blatantly sexual, Rey’s mouth went dry.

_What the fuck?_

First off, Rey had no idea he could move like _that_ and it made her stomach flutter. Secondly. She was a bit peeved. _No_. _You are jealous_.

 _Oh, hell no._  Solo was supposed to be the one strangling on his own lust. That was the whole point of everything she’d been doing for the past three days. To make that sonofabitch pay for being such an arrogant asshole…

Rey’s heart flipped over as Ben smiled at the blonde.

She gritted her teeth together and redoubled her efforts turn the tide back in her favor. Because somehow, _he_ had wrested away her sense of control so quickly and cleanly she knew without a doubt she no longer held the upper hand, here.

If she had ever held the upper hand. Which she now doubted. _Shit._

He looked like pure, distilled sex as he let that blonde grind against him... His lips were parted, eyelids half-lowered, hands tracing over that woman’s rounded hips like he wanted to…

A geyser of fury rushed up through Rey’s chest and stung her cheeks, as the combination of self-realization and sensual awareness catalyzed in a biochemical reaction that left her seeing red.

The curvaceous blonde dancing with Ben looked slavishly at him and swung her hips into his. It made Rey want to rip the bitch’s platinum hair from her scalp.

Rey was pleased to note Ben’s eyes did not heat the same way they did when he looked at her, but the blatant way he was swaying his own hips at that woman made Rey want to scream. 

Ben wasn’t even looking her way anymore. _That bastard._

The beat of the music became a grinding, off-center rhythm that somehow mimicked the perfect cadence for sex. Rey flipped her hair back and shimmied her shoulders at her own wide-eyed dance partner in deliberate invitation…

She turned around, so she didn’t have look at Ben.

…and her dance partner looked up and backed away. _What the fuck is wrong with all the guys in this place?_

…and suddenly her partner was just gone…and Ben was right there, moving in. His eyes captured hers and she could not look away from him as he maneuvered his large body into her space, somehow claiming her right there on the dance floor. Just with his presence. 

Rey swallowed down a lump of fear and anticipation, facing him down. She wanted to punish him. But his proximity and the vibe he was projecting at her was making it difficult to think straight.

Rey did the first thing that popped into her head and traced a finger down the front of his slightly sweat-dampened shirt, over the hard lines of his pecs, right down those abs… _she knew what was under that shirt…_

She hooked her finger into the top of his jeans and pulled him closer.

The bass of the music faded. Everything around her faded until there was only her and him grinding against each other in a blatant imitation of sex.

 _This is definitely dangerous,_ Rey thought, heart pounding wildly. _But there is no fucking way I’m stopping…_

Heat rolled off his body and Rey could smell the faint scent of his sweat. She was struck by the sudden urge to run her fingers through his thick, dark hair…

He was too tall for her to grind her hips directly into his, so she clutched her hands on either side of his ribs and angled herself to ride his thigh, instead. Her face flushed, and she knew it wasn't from the dancing.  _He's so fucking big._

Each push of her hips was met with a slow roll of his own that ended in a gentle push of his crotch against her belly. It was making her wet, soaking right through the fabric of her tiny little shorts…she was going to soak right through his jeans onto his leg, if they kept this up.

He didn’t say a word, but the smoking-hot look in his eyes told her exactly what he wanted. And at that moment, Rey wanted the exact same thing.

 

Ben’s heart almost thumped out of his chest when she touched him. He was tempted to throw her over his shoulder and haul her away for a good, hard dicking down, but he knew she was just playing with him. His jaw clenched.

_She knows exactly what she’s doing._

Rey bit her lip and Ben sucked in a breath, gripping her hips as he directed her to the edge of the dance floor, then swept her into a half turn that put her in front of him. He didn’t slow as he propelled her by the small of her back into a relatively quiet corner of the club, right up to the wall next to a service door.

She turned around and backed into the wall, but he didn’t stop until he was pressed against her. She opened her mouth to say something – probably one last ditch effort to win their little tug-of-war, but Ben wasn’t allowing it.

_Time for her to learn her first lesson about what happens to people who fuck around with me._

For some reason, he remembered that moment yesterday at the theater – during Rose Tico’s audition – when he controlled her with just a look. He wondered if he could do it again.

Rey made a good show of defiance, but Ben knew there was something else going on. He silently thanked Finn for providing such an eye-opening revelation about Rey just minutes ago... _that girl likes you_.

He leaned in to speak into her ear over the noise of the club, bracing his arms around her against the wall, caging her in. “Rey. I know exactly what you’re doing. And you’re playing with fire.”

He glanced back at her face, holding her eyes so she understood how serious he was.

She tried to look innocent, but it only emphasized her guilty intentions. She turned her face away, burying it into his collarbone.

“What are you talking about?” she muttered into his skin. _Fuck she is hot._

The smell of her was intoxicating. He brushed his nose into her hair, right at the side of her neck, under her ear.

“You should know two things about me,” Ben went on, holding onto his resolve with an iron grip. He moved a hand to her waist and was pleased to feel a shiver wrack through her.

“One,” he nibbled her earlobe, and she sucked in a breath. “If you want to play, I’ll play.”

He allowed himself to press his hips into her, so she could feel his arousal. He felt her hands clutch reflexively at his hips.

“Two,” he ran the tip of his tongue over the shell of her ear. “If you want to fight… I’ll fight back. And I don’t like to lose.”

The music thumped down into his bones, and something else pulsed between them. An acknowledgment of sorts. An admittance to their mutual attraction and … a thing – a feeling – hovering just out of the reach of his mind’s comprehension.

Her hands still gripped the waistband of his jeans, and he could feel the rise and fall of her chest under his as she fought to bring herself under control.

He waited, forcing her to make the next move. He wasn’t known for having great restraint, as a general rule. Especially when it came to people messing with him.

But, Ben knew he had a lot more experience at withholding himself from sex than Rey had. That particular kind of self-control had developed thanks to a cold, loveless marriage filled with years upon years of lonely frustration… and he was not about to jump into another relationship with someone who would treat him like her personal emotional punching bag.

The word _relationship_ stilled him as it unexpectedly jumped into his thoughts.

The ink on his divorce papers was barely dry.

_This is a bad idea._

That was the last thought he had before her mouth landed on his in eager surrender.

 

 _Fuck it,_ Rey thought recklessly. _I just want a taste…_

When his plush lips clung to hers for just a split second, Rey once again had a sensation of danger. His warning played through her mind: _You’re playing with fire._

She shivered as her body reacted to the conflicting sensations of lust and menace coming off him in hot, rolling waves.

 _I'm scared,_ she thought. 

She felt his hand grip the back of her neck as he angled her face up to his and pulled back to say, “Don’t be afraid. I feel it, too.”

She felt her nipples get hard under the black bustier she wore and momentarily wished they were alone so she could free herself from it and rub the aching peaks of her breasts against his chest.

Then he kissed her again and it was a full-on invasion of her senses. His lips angled over hers aggressively, and he pushed his tongue into her mouth in an obvious simulation of sex. Of _taking_ her.

He tasted like scotch and dark, unbridled desire. The sandpapery roughness of his five o’clock shadow lightly abraded her lips and she groaned into him.

That sound seemed to reverberate through him, and she felt a slight tremor run through his massive, rock hard body right back into hers.

His arms came down around her to cup her ass and press her into him with explicit intent. It made her dizzy.

He didn’t kiss like a man who was pissed at her. He kissed like a man who wanted to _devour_ her.

Rey felt warm, clenching drags of pure _want_ claw through her belly and another surge of wetness between her thighs when he ground his erection into her. He moaned raggedly into her mouth and the sound shot a spike of pleasure straight to her core.

She was losing her breath, even as he filled her with his own…smoke.

_I smell smoke._

They pulled away at the same time, staring at each other for a heartbeat before the jarring clang of a fire alarm blared into her ears.

Ben looked up alertly, pulling her into him protectively.

Two seconds later the sprinkler system kicked in and all hell broke loose.


	5. You're Not Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A night in Miami can be hot. And dangerous.

_Something’s wrong._

If anything could pull him away from the blissful sensation of Rey Niima’s warm, soft curves molding into his body, it would only have been a sense of extreme danger.

The smell of smoke hit him a millisecond before the fire alarm went off.

_Fire._

Even then, Ben did not want to let her go. Adrenaline rushed into his veins and he pulled her into his chest, glancing around as chaos erupted around them.

The sprinkler system spouted water from the ceiling in freezing cold streams, and everyone in the club scrambled in the confusion, sliding over the wet floors. People were pushing and shoving at each other in an effort to get to the exit.

 _Someone’s going to get trampled_ , Ben thought as the thumping music terminated abruptly in exchange for panicked screams and shouting as hundreds of desperate people tried to escape.

Smoke crept through the edges of the double-hinged service door, right near where they stood.

_Get her out of here._

After a brief dousing from the overhead sprinklers, Ben realized the water overhead had stopped – _too soon_ – and the club was plunged into a hellish blackness. Then the alarm stopped midway through an ear-splitting blast. _As if it had been cut off._

_This is wrong. Something’s wrong._

Rey clung to him in a panic and yelled frantically, “Ben! Where’s Finn?”

_Out. Get out._

The smell of smoke became stronger, and Ben’s eyes were starting to burn. He gripped her arms, and Rey choked in a lungful of smoky air as they stumbled away from the service door.

_Exit’s on the other side of the club._

“Come on!” He barked, dragging her further away from the service door, which opened on swinging hinges to emit more smoke as someone barreled through and sprinted for the exit. Ben glimpsed flames on the other side.

_Fuck. Why aren’t the sprinklers working?_

“Finn!” Rey screamed. “Where is he?” She slapped at Ben’s hands and twisted away from him, bolting in the direction of the bar.

_Do. Not. Lose. Her._

Ben ran after her and when he found her, her hand was over her mouth as she tried to filter out the toxic air. She was looking to the bar where they’d last seen Finn. People were maniacally shoving and screaming, trying to get out.

She took several steps away from him, and Ben was overwhelmed again by the thought _don’t lose her_ , as he tried to grab onto her through the horde of stampeding people.

He lunged for her and caught her wrist.

_Don’t let go. Get out. Now._

At this point, smoke was starting to fill the club in thick, choking clouds. Ben couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of him… Shapes of people were rushing away from them as he dragged Rey to the exit, but she was fighting his grip on her arms and screaming for Finn.

The smoke was getting thicker and Ben’s stomach sank in dread as he saw fire lick through the service door and along the wall where they’d been standing a minute before. His eyes began to water, and he yanked Rey’s wrist hard in the direction of where he thought the exit should be.

“Rey! We have to get the fuck out of here!” he yelled, coughing as his lungs filled with smoke.

_Now. Get out._

“Finn!” Rey screamed again and she choked on the filthy air.

Ben felt a burst of heat behind him as flames began climbing up the walls.

_Too fast. Too hot. Something’s not right._

He adjusted his grip so he had her by the arm and yanked on her again, more forcefully this time. Rey didn’t say anything, but he wasn’t sure she could talk as she doubled over, coughing.

He heard shouting ahead and headed toward the noise, pulling her with him. He felt a wave of dizziness as the smoke began robbing him of oxygen, irritating his throat.

She tried to pull free again, and Ben felt a momentary pang of conscience; she was desperate to find Finn. _No time._

He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up, rushing them both to the exit. He could feel his oxygen-starved blood pounding through his body and reminded himself he could hold his breath for a long time, thanks to swimming.

_Stay calm._

Ben tripped as something large slid across his path and crashed into his shins. _A barstool?_ He stumbled, kicking the object out of his way as he moved them away from the flames.

The sound of the fire was unlike anything he’d ever heard, and real, visceral fear crept into him as a roaring, crackling nightmare erupted behind them.

Rey was starting to gasp and cough in earnest. They were almost to the door. They had to be close.

_Air. Need air._

Something swung past his head in a violent rush, and Ben reacted instinctively, turning to see what it was.

_Someone’s there. Go. Now._

But he couldn’t see anything, and Rey was growing limp in his arms, clutching desperately at his chest, choking on the toxic air. He vaguely realized she was trying to breathe through his shirt.

_Get her out._

He ran madly in the direction of safety, hefting her more securely in his arms.

_Don't panic._

He felt a change – a breeze? – when they got closer to the exit, but he couldn’t see anything through the smoke.

And then something hot, like a fast-moving stone, punched into the back of his shoulder, hard.

He almost dropped Rey from the stinging pain as his arm went numb, but they were at the open door now and he flung them through it with the last of his strength, into the balmy Miami night.

He carried her a few stumbling steps, as smoke and heat poured out the door behind him and firemen rushed in and around.

Outside was controlled chaos as he dropped Rey to her feet and leaned over, taking huge, staggered lungfuls of air.

“Anyone else in there?” one of the firemen asked Rey. She shook her head, hacking and gasping for breath.

 _Yes. Someone else is in there,_ Ben thought, swaying on his feet. _Tried to kill me, I think._

But he couldn’t talk. He heaved and gagged, trying to breathe.

Ben dimly heard Finn shouting, “Rey! Rey!” and noticed from the corner of his eye Finn was held back by two guys who looked like bouncers from the club. _Why? Why are they doing th-?_

As if through a tunnel, everything became distorted. His surroundings drifted into a far away vision, like a funnel through time, into a single, tiny-bright pinpoint of life that he clung to with all of his consciousness.

 _You’re in shock,_ he realized _._

The burning sting in the back of Ben’s shoulder began to throb with horrible, crawling pain and he dropped to his knees. _Rey._

A loud buzzing erupted in his ears and a wave of darkness barreled into him. 

 _I think I’ve been shot,_ he thought vaguely right before he passed out.

 

Finn broke free and ran over to them, sweeping Rey into a fierce bear hug. Rey clutched her arms around Finn and tried to talk, but she couldn’t make the words come out.

_Finn’s okay. And Ben -?_

She turned back as Ben crumpled to the ground. There was…a bloody hole in the back of his t-shirt. Panic surged through her as she knelt next to him.

_What? What happened? Ben –_

“Ben!” Rey’s voice was weak and scratchy, tears streaking down her soot-covered face in black rivulets. “Oh my God! Help!”

A paramedic rushed up when Finn bellowed for help. Rey tried calling out, too, but her voice was totally shredded, and she couldn’t get any volume out of it.

“This one’s got a gunshot wound,” snapped one of the paramedics as she knelt next to Ben.  

Ben’s eyes opened and flashed frantically until they caught hers. He whispered her name, before his eyes unfocused and rolled back.

Rey tried to scream but she couldn’t. Finn clutched at her and dragged her out of the way.

_Were we the last ones out?_

The thought escaped her in a whisper, and Finn replied, “Yeah. I was trying to go back in for you, but they wouldn’t let me.” Finn’s hands were shaking.

The voices around her blurred out as Finn swept her into another hug. “Are you okay? Oh my God, Rey, that was so scary!”

Finn put an arm around her and Rey had never seen him look so solemn. _He’s the only family I have_ , she thought, not for the first time.

A wave of dizziness washed over her.

_Finn. Ben. How did he get shot?_

She tried to respond, to tell Finn how afraid she’d been, but she whipped her head around upon hearing Ben’s choking gasp. Nothing could tear her eyes from the sight of him lying on the ground with paramedics working over him. Someone tried to ask her if she was alright, but she shoved them away.

“Ben’s been shot,” she remarked and burst into tears as she stared at Ben lying on the ground, watching paramedics strap an oxygen mask around his face and cut his shirt away… and blood… Blood was everywhere. It was on her, she realized. _Ben’s blood._

Her knees quaked, and she would have fallen over if Finn hadn’t been holding onto her.

Another EMT approached. “Miss. I really need you to have some oxygen, right now. You inhaled a lot of smoke.”

After Finn led her to the back of an ambulance, Rey allowed an EMT to strap an oxygen mask to her face. She huddled under a blanket and tried to concentrate on what was happening with Ben a few yards away.

The plastic mask cut into her cheeks uncomfortably, and the cold edge of the ambulance bumper pressed into the backs of her bare legs.

 _Breathe_ , she told herself. _Breathe._

_Ben. What is happening?_

Next to her, Finn pulled out his phone and swiped his fingers across the screen with a shaking hand.

She heard him say, “Luke? It’s Finn. Something’s happened and we need you to meet us at –” he looked at the nearest EMT and asked, “Where are they taking him?” nodding to Ben, who was strapped to a gurney and gazing in their direction.

“Jackson Memorial.”

“Meet us at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Ben’s been hurt. There was a fire. And they said he was shot.” He paused, listening. “Yes, he’s alive, he’s okay. We’re all okay.”

Finn hung up and looked back to Rey. Hearing Finn say _Ben’s been shot_ made her stomach twist into knots and fresh tears poured over her cheeks. 

 _No, we aren’t_ , thought Rey. _We aren't okay at all._

She started shaking like she was freezing, but she knew it was warm outside. She was going to start laughing hysterically if she didn’t get a grip.

From the gurney, Ben was looking at her through glazed eyes, but the mask over his face prevented communication...

People milled around the perimeter – most of them had made it out before the smoke had gotten too bad. The handful of those farthest from the exit were in the worst shape. _Like Ben._

Unable to sit and wait anymore, she ripped the mask off her face and stumbled over to him before Finn could stop her.

Ben's eyes closed, and he looked deathly pale.

“I’m coming with you, too,” she said, reaching for him. Someone pulled her hand back.

“I’m sorry, miss, but no, you will have to go to the hospital and meet him there,” said an EMT, not bothering to look up as she and another paramedic maneuvered the gurney into the back of a waiting ambulance.

Finn, who was right next to her, had his phone out again, “We’ll meet you there.”

Rey felt a desperate kind of frenzy overcome her. _He can’t go. Not alone._

“Ben!” she cried out in her ragged, broken voice as the gurney was chugged into the ambulance and the EMT’s climbed inside next to it. “You’re not alone! We’re right behind you. We’ll be there. I’ll be there!”

And that’s when the cameras started flashing.

Finn hustled her back to her spot at the other ambulance, angling himself so the paparazzi wouldn’t be able to get a good shot of her.

 _What the hell just happened?_ Rey thought wildly as she heard the blare of a siren from the ambulance carrying Ben Solo.

She sat there, gazing at the firefighters swarming around, the flames spilling from the club, lights flashing. The camera flashes and ambulance lights flared together, and they would forever mingle and connect in her mind’s eye, becoming an indistinguishable and permanently linked reminder of terror.

Finn whispered to her soothingly until Poe Dameron showed up fifteen minutes later. They scrambled into the back seats of the SUV Rey recognized as the one they had used to ride to the theater for the past couple of days. 

"You okay?" Poe asked Finn, and Rey had never seen him so serious.

"Yeah," Finn replied with a long look. He swallowed and went on, "Rey had it worse than I did. And Solo." Finn shook his head.

Rey could hardly speak, so instead, she listened to Finn explain his version of what happened while Poe drove.

Poe looked extremely worried, and part of Rey recognized the kindness behind his evident concern. Poe’s eyes flashed at hers in the rearview mirror and he offered her a handsome smile.

“Don’t worry, Rey, it’ll be okay,” he said comfortingly. She felt a little better. Finn reached over and patted her leg.

“Yeah, Baby, listen to Poe, he’s a smart guy,” Finn added, winking at their driver.

Rey did not miss _that_ exchange and was momentarily distracted. _Finn? And Poe Dameron? Am I missing something?_

Finn looked back at her and said quietly, “You look like shit. Should we have someone bring you some clothes and stuff so you can get cleaned up at the hospital? We might be there for a little bit…I can call Connix, if you want?”

“Would you call her, please?” Rey asked. “And could you have her check on Beebee, too?”

She waited for a beat, then added in her best sisterly voice, “And then you can explain what exactly the hell is going on between you two.”

 

Rey tried to calm herself, knowing that panic and hysteria would do no good to anyone. Finn’s awkward silence and Poe’s winsome smirking helped distract her for the duration of the trip.

When they arrived at the hospital, they were directed to the emergency room, and Luke was already there. He was staring down another man in a white doctor’s coat, presumably Ben’s doctor, and he looked … _intense_. Rey had worked closely with Luke Skywalker for five years, and she had never seen him this upset.

 _So, there’s the family resemblance_ , Rey thought. _Wow. I get it._

She could finally see how Ben Solo and Luke Skywalker might be related. Because they both could be … kinda scary.

Rey could see the doctor had a good six inches height on Luke and his own very intimidating stare. But as Rey, Finn, and Poe approached them, she heard Luke threaten in no uncertain terms, “That’s my nephew in there and if you fuck him up, I will make you sorry you were born.”

_I don’t think I’ve ever heard him swear before._

“Sir. Please. We are doing everything we can,” the doctor replied blithely.

“What’s going on?” Rey asked breathlessly, running up to stand next to Luke. The doctor raised an eyebrow and asked her pointedly, “Do you need to be admitted, miss?”

Rey realized she was wearing hot-pink booty shorts, a sexy bustier, and a see-through top. She was also covered in soot, with streaks of Ben’s blood across her arm and shoulder. She probably did look like she needed medical attention. But she didn’t back down.

“What’s going on with Ben?” she asked the doctor, her voice still hoarse and scratchy.

Luke didn't budge an inch when he replied with a pointed glare at the doctor, “They want to put him under while they remove the bullet.”

“Is that necessary?” Rey asked. _Put him under? What does that mean? Where is he?_

“Not strictly, no,” said the doctor calmly. “But it will make the procedure go more smoothly and the patient will be more comfortable.”

“What does Ben say about it?” she asked Luke. Luke’s eyes were blue flames. Rey felt a tremor of dread.

“I don’t know. They won’t let me see him,” Luke growled, interrupting the doctor.

“ _Sir._ We are prepping him for surgery. This is standard procedure. If you continue, I will have to ask you to leave the premises,” the doctor’s voice finally took on an edge, and Rey, not wanting to get kicked out, grabbed Luke’s arm.

“Let’s go to the waiting room,” she murmured. _If we get kicked out, we won’t know what’s happening._

_I can’t believe I am the voice of fucking reason in this scenario…_

“Um.” The doctor was looking at Rey with a new light in his eyes. He recognized her. “Miss Niima? There’s a shower in the doctor’s lounge. I can arrange for you to use it if you’d like to … freshen up?”

Rey was not totally used to getting special treatment for her celebrity status. But right now, she wouldn’t hesitate to take full advantage.

“That would be amazing,” she smiled at him as if he were her savior and put on her most charming voice. “And, um, my friend in there? _His_ nephew?” She nodded at Luke, who was now staring at her as if she’d sprouted another head. “Well, we’re just _so_ worried. Could you just bend the rules a teensy bit and let Luke check on him? Luke will be on his best behavior, won’t you Luke?”

 _I sound like a fucking phone-sex operator,_ she thought.

The doctor looked gob-smacked. Rey gave him her best pleading gaze. _Please._

“Please?” she whispered, voice husky and ruined from the smoke. _Please let us find out if Ben is okay._

Luke nodded, immediately dropping the hostile attitude to assume a manner of placid subservience. He looked back to the doctor with an appealing lift of his bushy eyebrows. “I just want to check on him. I’ll be nice. I promise.”

The doctor looked as if a whirlwind had swept through him before glancing back to Rey with a weary sigh. “I’ll see what I can do. Follow me.” He turned and walked swiftly down the corridor, as medical personnel swept past them.

“Nice work, Niima,” Luke whispered to her with a wink, and Rey’s heart lifted just a bit.

She didn’t break down until she was in the shower.

 

Ben was having the most amazing dream.

He had her pinned against a wall … somewhere…

Dance music thrummed through him and he could feel her hands gripping at his hips, clutching the waistband of his jeans.

_She’s kissing me. Damn. She tastes like heaven._

He kissed her again, attempting a full-on invasion of her senses. His lips angled over hers aggressively, and he pushed his tongue into her mouth in an obvious simulation of sex.

Of _taking_ her. He could tell she liked it by the way she moaned into him and pressed her body against his. 

He kissed her harder and imagined what it would feel like to slide himself into the hot, tight haven between her legs. He pushed his tongue into her mouth one more time, wrapping his lips around hers with blatant craving.

He tasted scotch on his own breath, in his mouth.

_I had a few drinks. Scotch._

He wanted to share that with her, make her taste him. Her lips and skin were smooth and silky, and he wanted to mark her, abrading her lips with the sandpapery roughness of his five o’clock shadow until her mouth was pink and swollen.

_That girl likes you._

She groaned into him, and the sound sent shockwaves through him. He felt a slight tremor run through his body right back into hers.

_I want her. So much._

He moved his arms down to cup his hands around her ass and press her into him with explicit intent.

He wasn’t pissed at her. He wanted to _devour_ her.

_If you want to play…if you want to fight…_

She clung to him, opening her mouth to his, and he pushed his tongue inside, testing the heat and texture of her.

His shoulder hurt.

_You’re not alone… I’ll be there…_

Her breaths exchanged with his and he ground his erection into her. He moaned raggedly into her mouth and he recognized that her arousal matched his.

_That girl... likes you..._

The pain in his shoulder became stronger. Burning. Aching.

She was losing her breath, even as he filled her with his own…smoke.

_I smell smoke._

_Something’s wrong._

_Snoke._

An evil laugh pierced his thoughts.

_Snoke is coming to destroy everything I’ve built and I can’t let him don’t let him don’t let him. Don’t._

_He’s coming._

_Don’t let him get near her. No._

_No._

_Do. Not. Lose. Her._

_Don’t let him._

The last thing he remembered before the blackness consumed him was the twisted visage of his father-in-law, laughing cruelly at him as he took everything Ben Solo had ever wanted or loved…

…and Rey, screaming another man’s name as he desperately tried to find her through thick, burning clouds of toxic smoke.


	6. Just You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the club, the Show must go on. Rey and Ben are each reminded of dark events from the past.

**Miami, FL –**

Rey was dozing next to Ben’s hospital bed when she woke up to the sensation of a large, warm hand gently petting her hair.

“Rey?” a deep voice murmured to her at the edge of her consciousness.

Her eyes fluttered open and were quickly drawn to his. At some point in the night, her weary head had rested on the edge of his bed when exhaustion had overtaken her…

He was ghostly pale, dark brows drawn together in a slight frown as he quietly watched her. He looked tired, the dusky shadows under his eyes highlighting his pallor.

“Ben,” she whispered hoarsely. The beeps and blips from nearby screens and monitors made a low din around them. “How long have you been awake?”

She wanted to keep his hand on her hair _forever_ …but she sat up, a little dazed and aching from the awkward position of half-sitting, half-leaning into the side of his bed.

“The nurse just left. It’s the middle of the night,” Ben said with a raspy smile that didn’t quite penetrate his unfathomable scrutiny. “I’m sorry for waking you. Wasn’t sure if you were real… Are you okay?”

Any menace or sexual tension from him the previous evening had been replaced with a bone-deep weariness and apparent concern. _For her._

“Am I – ? Ben. You – are _you_ okay?” Rey shook her head and a tear slid down her cheek. “You were shot! You. _Saved my life._ You didn’t leave me.”

Rey remembered a brief moment from the night before when she’d ripped away from Ben’s grasp to search for Finn. For two heartbeats, the smoke had been everywhere…and she’d been paralyzed with fear in a dark, airless hell. She’d never felt so alone, not since…

…and then he’d been there, dragging her – then _carrying_ her – to safety. 

At the confused look on his face, Rey felt more tears bubble up from a dark, hidden well lurking below the surface of her mind. 

_He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know about being alone. He doesn’t –_

She couldn’t explain it to him. Tears streamed from her eyes, and she choked on the rasping breaths scraping down her throat.

He could never understand something she could barely articulate to herself.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay, sweetheart. Don’t cry. Please.” Ben swallowed carefully. The effort to speak took an obvious toll.

Just then the door swung open to admit a stocky, dark-eyed nurse. Rey tried valiantly to control her tears, and Ben turned his head in surprise, saying, “Another nurse – Emily – was just in here.”

The woman looked momentarily taken aback and checked her clipboard. “Oh! You’re awake!”

She glanced at Rey then back to Ben, mumbled an apology, and left.

Ben stared at the closed door for a minute and Rey couldn’t stop looking at him.

 _He has pretty eyelashes_ , she thought idly. _And he needs a shave. It makes him look rugged and vulnerable at the same time._

She studied his mouth, surveying the contrast between his scruffy beard and the luxurious plushness of his lips, remembering how his hot mouth had so greedily plundered hers.

_He’s soooo … fucking sexy…_

Ben turned back to her, and Rey felt her cheeks turn pink.

“Why aren’t you in bed? Why – where’s Luke?” Ben asked softly, his deep, scratchy voice reinforcing his appearance of rugged vulnerability.

Rey replied after a brief hesitation. “Luke’s rearranging some things for the show… and talking to the FBI.”

“What? Why?” A note of alarm crept into his voice.

“He’s switching the episodes, so we can have the British Invasion episode next week in Atlanta, instead of later,” Rey said, carefully avoiding the topic of the FBI when she noticed his apprehension. “He was able to get Phasma to come over early for judging. Under the circumstances, she was okay with rearranging her schedule, so we could switch around the themes for the episodes.”

“And the FBI?” Ben persisted. Rey could sense the dread underscoring his question.

“They are calling it attempted murder. The fire was started right near us... right by where we were… They said it was definitely not an accident. The sprinklers and alarms were cut off, and then… someone shot you,” Rey said.

“I know,” Ben muttered. “I knew those sprinklers went out too fast… was anyone else hurt?”

“Not really, just… you,” Rey’s voice trembled. _Don’t start crying again._

Ben’s eyes closed for a moment, and Rey realized he was too exhausted to keep talking.

“Go to sleep,” she whispered. “I’ll be here. I won't leave you alone…”

But he’d already fallen asleep.

She stayed until his parents showed up early the next morning.

Han Solo, Ben’s father, was surprisingly down-to-earth, gruff, and a bit sarcastic. Rey liked him instantly, especially when she’d reached out to shake his hand, introducing herself quietly so as not to wake Ben.

Han's hands were large, warm, and work-roughened as they swallowed her much smaller hands in a firm, unpretentious grip.  Han Solo had a lovely gravelly voice, shaggy gray hair, and a devil-may-care twinkle in his eyes.

In a world of overly-groomed, plastic people, Ben’s dad was genuine, she could tell. She couldn’t help but return his devilish grin with a wide smile of her own.

It struck Rey how Ben was the image of his father, except for the eyes – Ben’s eyes were all his mother’s: Dark, soulful, and somehow weighted and weary as if they’d seen too much and still not enough.

His mother was much shorter than her husband and son, maybe a bare couple inches over five feet, but the force of her personality made up for her lack of height. Although Leia had greeted Rey with a friendly enough hug, her dark eyes swept over Rey appraisingly and unapologetically.

Rey felt as if Leia were _searching, gauging_ … for what, Rey couldn’t decide…

Nevertheless, Leia’s analytical regard left Rey feeling as if she’d been weighed and measured. Rey was slightly unsure of exactly where she stood with the diminutive woman.

Rey filled them in on the basics of Ben’s condition and provided her version of what had happened the night before. She could tell his parents were deeply concerned, and her heart panged a bit at the thought of what it might feel like to have parents who cared whether she lived or died.

She glanced over at Ben and noticed he was awake, listening.

“Mom. Dad.” His voice was still raspy, but a bit better this morning. At the sound, Han and Leia turned to him and Rey felt an immediate awkwardness envelop the room. She remembered hearing Ben Solo and his family had a falling out years ago, and she wondered when they’d actually last spoken to each other in person.

“How long are you in here, kid?” Han asked gruffly.

“I’ll stay in the hospital for another day, then at my hotel room in Miami for the rest of the week,” Ben replied shortly. After that, Rey knew Ben planned to meet the _American Stars_ crew in New York, flying there directly from Miami.

“Ben. You don’t need a hotel in New York. We’d love to have you stay with us for the week,” Leia offered cajolingly.

Ben bluntly declined.

At his mother’s invitation, the awkwardness in the room expanded into near-hostility from Ben and something Rey could only imagine was stern parental disapproval from his parents – she had no idea what it might feel like to have disapproving parents, but the air in the room was thick with it.

Feeling a bit like an intruder, nobody spoke a word, and Rey debated changing the subject.

She wanted to tell Ben so many things before she left but realized this was not the time for it. _He should be with his family._

After a few tense minutes of stilted conversation and an apologetic glance to Ben, she mumbled goodbyes to the room at large and slipped out the door. It had been more difficult than Rey had thought it would be to leave him there.

_You’re not leaving him alone. He has people to be there for him._

She walked out of the hospital, where Poe was waiting to give her a ride back to the hotel. And then she had to pack her things and fly to Atlanta, a mixture of guilt and confusion weighing on her mind.

**New York City –**

Like Rey, Luke Skywalker had been particularly reticent to leave his nephew behind in Miami, especially after learning he’d been shot and that nobody had an idea of who had done it or why it had happened.

Not wanting to take chances, since the shooter remained unidentified, Luke took it upon himself to hire Ben a bodyguard, Dopheld Mitaka, who would watch over his nephew while the rest of the cast and crew went on with the show in Atlanta.

The week in Atlanta had been a very long week, indeed.

After her last night in Miami – _that_ night she would never forget – Rey’s schedule had been impossibly full. The week’s filming in Atlanta had passed in a painfully slow blur, punctuated only by the highlights of working with a new – albeit temporary – judge and finding some amazing new talent.

Luke had made arrangements for their guest judge and long-time music industry icon, Phasma, to arrive early for the filming of the _British Invasion_ episode of _American Stars,_ which would be a fun play on the idea that all of the judges were from the UK.

Phasma was very tall, with short, platinum blonde hair, and a gorgeous British accent. Her sharp blue eyes could change in a flash from a warm caress of tropical waters into a glacial subzero freeze. Rey adored her and looked forward to the days when they got to work together.

When not filming, Rey worked with Luke to discuss the upcoming production of her new music video, which would air live at the season finale of _American Stars_. Luke’s boundless energy amazed her, as he was also picking up the slack for Ben’s absence.

However, in spite of herself and her busy schedule that week, Rey’s thoughts had returned to focus on Ben. Constantly.

_I miss him. I actually miss that egotistical asshole… who saved my life and kissed me like he wanted to devour me…_

Her stomach fluttered every time she remembered him on that dance floor. The way he’d deliberately pushed his hips against her belly, the blatantly sensual act somehow conveyed as both a promise and a threat.

She remembered how he’d backed her against the wall, the way his breath had heated her neck, how his warm, solid chest had pressed demandingly into her… the silky caress of his dark hair against her cheek… the way his sweat had smelled so appealing she’d wanted to taste it…

Her conflicting emotions teased at her thoughts all week. Especially the things he’d said to her right before the fire…

_“If you want to play… I’ll play…”_

For some reason, Ben’s words had branded themselves into her mind, even as they’d intimidated her just a bit. She knew full well she’d been toying with him – on purpose – but... But, she hadn’t expected his reaction to be so… honest? Dominant?

“… _If you want to fight… I’ll fight back.”_

Yes, it had been both of those things. But it had also been disarmingly passionate.

Ben Solo was not a person to take lightly, she knew. She’d known him and of him for years, and there were many, many good reasons why he had a fearsome reputation for ruthless critiques which often bordered on brutality. She’d faced it a few times, herself.

 _“And I don’t like to lose,"_  he’d informed her, and Rey recalled the untamed, competitive thrill raking down her nerve endings at his challenge.

But, mostly she thought about the intensity in his eyes when he’d imposed his will on her in no uncertain terms.

He had no problem shutting down her games even while openly admitting he wanted her. It was exhilarating to her, knowing he wouldn’t put up with her wild bullshit.

She wondered what it would be like to let a man like Ben Solo… _tame_ her…

He had made it abundantly clear he wanted her but he wouldn’t be toyed with. She wondered what it would be like to have sex with someone she couldn’t manipulate and who could read her intentions like an open book.

_Someone like Ben._

On their first night in New York, the cast of _American Stars_ had been invited to a party at Ben Solo’s parents’ Park Avenue penthouse. Luke Skywalker may have eschewed the trappings of extreme wealth, but his twin sister Leia had no such compunctions.

The spectacular penthouse was impressive, trendy, and had recently been featured in a multi-page article for _Veranda_ magazine. The white and cream tones of the furniture and decor, high-end art, and softly glowing chandeliers hanging from the sky-high ceilings were beautiful, but a bit flashy in Rey’s opinion, who had already seen an endless share of music mogul and celebrity materialism on full display.

The New York skyline unashamedly shimmered around the group gathered outside on the patio, surrounding them with sparkle, even as the guests themselves glittered with the kind of easy flash that came from being either super-famous, super-rich, or both.

Rey felt a twinge of nerves at the thought of seeing Ben Solo again tonight. Things had been so up in the air when she’d left him at the hospital. Other than a few texts to check on her, Ben hadn’t contacted her.

They hadn’t had a chance to have a proper conversation about anything since then.

The filming schedule had been insane, and Rey knew Ben’s time had been completely monopolized with doing what he could from Miami while recovering from his injury.

Still. It felt as if he’d been avoiding her on purpose.

He hadn’t made an appearance, yet, although Rey knew he was staying at the same hotel as the rest of the crew.

Apparently, he’d had some personal business to take care of before showing up to his parents’…

 _Or he’s avoiding us_ , Rey surmised. She’d definitely picked up on the tension between the Solos at the hospital in Miami.

_Something to pry out of him later._

Rey mingled with the dozens of other guests, then found an empty cocktail table as the pink sky faded into the inevitable approach of nightfall.

Sipping champagne, Rey stood near the table next to a softly-lit swimming pool. She wore a tight black, knee-length asymmetrical dress. One arm had a full, fitted sleeve and the other arm and shoulder remained bare; the contrast made her feel sexy. The dress’s cutouts around the waist and hips revealed more than they hid.

She shivered at the slight breeze. It was a bit chillier farther north, as autumn advanced with cooler air and just a hint of changing leaves, just beginning to turn color on the trees which lined the ceaselessly busy streets below them.

In quiet conversation, lost in their own private world, Finn and Poe lounged nearby, also sipping champagne. Phasma, who had sat in on auditions last week, perched elegantly on the edge of a barstool, conversing animatedly with Luke Skywalker.

Other stylishly dressed guests stood or sat in small groups around the patio, adding to the sophisticated hustle of a high-class party.

Bluesy jazz music mingled in the background with many conversations, and servers moved through the crowd bearing trays of champagne and fancy little appetizers Rey snatched up every chance she got.

Other than the occasional smile or nod to fellow partygoers, Rey welcomed the chance to be momentarily alone with her thoughts.

She’d dressed just for _him_ , and her anticipation manifested in constant flutters low in her belly... She wondered how he’d react at the sight of her… _would his eyes smolder into hers the way they had at the club?_ _Would he come right over or try to make me come to him? Would I go to him? Or resist and try to make him come to me?_

She waited and pondered, idly twirling the stem of her champagne flute between her fingers.

 

The night sky had darkened from variegated pinks into a starless, bruised purple when she heard the slightly raised voices of incoming guests being greeted. She turned to see the source of the sounds… and suddenly, from across the patio, there he was. _Ben._

With someone whom Rey had always hoped she would never see again.

_Armitage Hux._

The red-haired man next to Ben was handsome and pale, but his piercing blue eyes moved too quickly to Rey’s, meeting hers unwillingly from the other side of the pool. He started in surprise at the sight of her and Rey drew in a deep gasp, trying to keep her composure. But she couldn’t.

Her insides became a tangled mass of shock she fought to keep from turning into full-blown panic. She felt the color drain from her face and the hand holding her champagne flute trembled reflexively.

_Him. No. Why is he here?_

Unaware of the visual exchange between Hux and Rey, Phasma caught sight of the newcomers and moved gracefully to greet Ben and Hux with hugs and air-kisses.

Rey dragged her fearful stare from Hux back to Ben.

He’d seen her reaction to Hux and was watching her with quiet contemplation.

 _Searching. Gauging._ _Seeing too much and not enough._

Not breaking eye contact, Ben excused himself from the small group gathered around him. He walked resolutely around the pool, right toward her.

_He’s going to want to know what’s wrong. And I can’t. Not now. I can’t deal with this right now._

Ben was halfway around the pool, moving in her direction with long, determined strides when Rey’s adrenaline kicked in.

She needed to escape. _Get out._ She pulled her gaze from Ben’s penetrating frown, glancing around for the quickest way to disappear. Hux had been drawn by Phasma into a discussion with Luke. Ben’s advance was slowed by small groups of people scattered between them.

_Go. Just leave._

Rey set her glass on a nearby table, dashing for the other side of the pool, making her way to the wide-open glass doors between the patio and the penthouse.

_Get out._

Finn called her name, but she ignored it.

She needed to get away.

Away from Hux.

Away from Ben.

Away from everyone.

 

Ben wanted nothing more than to avoid his parents’ party and stay back at the hotel, drinking and sulking.

The reasons for drinking and sulking were, in his mind, totally justified. For one, he’d been shot, and while the bullet had been a small caliber and the surgery to remove it had gone well, it still hurt like the devil.

The doctors had all unanimously claimed if the bullet had hit him a few millimeters to the left or right, there would have been more extensive nerve, tendon, or tissue damage. As it was, it had been a clean shot, landing right in the meaty part of his upper shoulder.

The doctors also informed him that, had he not had so much muscle, the bullet would have hit bone, which would have caused more serious complications. He could treat the injury like a deep puncture wound, wear a sling until the stitches came out, and be almost back to normal in a matter of a couple weeks.

They told him he was very lucky. But he didn’t feel lucky.

He was even more worried about _why_ he’d been shot and whether it had been random or if he was the specific target. His gut told him he’d been the target. But without solid evidence, there wasn’t much he could do.

The FBI was now involved, actively investigating the club fire and Ben’s attempted murder. They agreed keeping publicity down on the case might help them flush out clues.

As far as anyone but the immediate cast of _American Stars_ knew, Ben Solo was remaining in Miami to deal with some “personal issues” and had been planning on skipping Atlanta the whole time.

Luke was handling most of the heavy lifting for production of _American Stars_ , and Ben, while doing what he could from Miami, hated not being right there to oversee it. His company depended on the show’s success, and Ben was loath to leave things up to fate. He needed to be on-site and on set, not languishing in some posh hotel room with a bodyguard, bored to tears.

The bodyguard – Mitaka – had been Luke’s idea, and Ben had reluctantly agreed it wasn’t a terrible one. Mitaka was young but efficient and professional, and after discussing ideas with Ben, the young man had agreed he could play the role of Production Assistant, which would explain his constant presence on set.

 _American Stars_  already had several competent production assistants, Kaydel Connix being the best of the best. She would see through Mitaka’s façade instantly. But looping her in on Mitaka’s true role was not an option.

His mind wandered to the final, most pressing issue which had weighed on his mind all week: _Rey._ And how much he wanted her.

Escaping from a fire and getting shot had definitely put a crimp in his plans to get her alone and naked at the first opportunity…

When he’d woken in the hospital after surgery, he’d been surprised and amazed she’d been there, asleep and half-leaning into the side of his bed.

Confusion and desire mingled with something deeper when he recalled the words she’d hoarsely yelled into the back of the ambulance at him before the wailing sirens had drowned out all his thoughts.

_“You’re not alone! We’re right behind you. We’ll be there. I’ll be there!”_

It had been a very long time since someone had made him feel… not lonely.

At least he’d get to see her again if he went to his parents’. It would definitely be worth dealing with them if he had a chance to see Rey. Talk to her… maybe get her into a secluded corner and… finally scratch that itch.

On the day of his mother's party, his stitches had been removed and the doctor had proclaimed he could stop wearing the arm sling. He had arrived in New York feeling better than he had in weeks, probably in no small part due to the lack of heavy drinking - which did not mix well with his pain medication - and an abundance of rest. 

Ben was kind of looking forward to getting back to work in New York, in spite of his familial obligations.

Hux had also just arrived in New York from Tokyo and was part of the plan to help with the show. Although he’d worked for Snoke since before KRM had been founded, Ben had brought him in as an independent contractor to help with marketing and post-production.

In fact, Hux had been the one to introduce Ben to Snoke so many years ago. If it hadn’t been for him… _you can’t blame Hux for your own stupid mistakes_ , Ben thought angrily, forcing his thoughts away from his ex-father-in-law and the whole convoluted mess he was currently mired in.

Ben liked working with Hux, who was ruthless and shrewd when it came to handling publicity on an international scale. He didn’t particularly like the man’s cold, calculating personality, but in the business world, it was a huge asset.

They met in the lobby of his parent’s building and walked together to the elevators. Mitaka, who had been shadowing Ben all evening, made a good show of running up at the last second to join them in the elevator and they all exchanged brief greetings and small talk.

Hux looked uncomfortable and Ben assumed it was jet lag. He let their conversation fall away into mutual silence.

When they arrived at the door, Ben could tell right away his mother had pulled out all the stops for her party. The penthouse, already gorgeously appointed with modern fixtures and excellent lighting, held the usual mix of celebrities and billionaires that ran in their social circles.

Ben swallowed a sense of oncoming trepidation and let Hux go in first.

Leia welcomed Hux with a friendly hello and “So glad you could be here!” before turning to Ben.

She greeted him with a hug and a kiss that didn’t quite land on his cheek. Leia was far too sophisticated to let something like a reunion with her nearly-estranged son ruin her flawless lipstick. _Even if he’d almost been killed just over a week ago,_ Ben thought bitterly.

Ben felt immediately guilty. His parents had flown to Miami to check on him right away when Luke told them he’d been shot. Their concern had been evident, and he knew deep down they cared.

Ben’s shoulder twinged a bit as he leaned down to return her hug, more from a sense of filial obligation than actual willingness. Her dark, serious eyes stared solemnly back at him, and he knew she could sense his conflicted feelings.

But his mind had only one thought, so he asked, “Where’s Rey?” before she could pepper him with questions.

“Outside,” his mother replied quietly, turning to point him through to the patio. “You look like you’re feeling better. I’m glad.”

Ben barely heard her, following Hux, already scanning the room for the one person he wanted to see.

When he stepped through the doors to the patio, his eyes went straight to hers as if pulled by a magnet.

He didn’t miss the way she was looking in his direction, nor did he miss the way Hux froze next to him at the sight of her.

_They know each other._

Phasma approached with a welcoming smile, standing a couple of inches over Ben in her high-heeled sandals. Ben was not used to looking up when he spoke to people, but with Phas, he didn’t mind. She pulled Hux away into a conversation, and Ben barely noticed.

He couldn’t tear his eyes off Rey. _She looks frightened. Of what? Hux?_

He was sure he had sensed a simmering undercurrent of mutual fear between the two of them, and made his way to her, intending to find out what the fuck was going on.

When Rey bolted away at his approach, Ben spun around immediately and tried to follow. He could see her head inside and knew she was leaving.

_What the hell is going on with her? Why is she leaving?_

He was farther from the doors and he didn’t get to her until she was at the front entrance to the penthouse, just as a uniformed bellhop held the door open for her.

Ben slowed his steps just a bit, falling in behind her as she swept through the door and down the hall to the elevator without a backward glance.

“Rey,” Ben said softly. “What’s wrong?”

She threw him a panicked glance over her shoulder and moved faster, not saying a word.

“Rey! Wait!” he appealed more insistently.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he should have informed Mitaka he was leaving, but if Mitaka was any good at his job, Ben knew he wouldn’t be far behind.

And Ben had bigger things to worry about at the moment. Like what the hell was wrong with Rey? And why did she run at the sight of Hux, of all people?

 

 

They reached the empty elevator at the same time, and Rey was out of breath. Ben swept in behind her and punched the button for the lobby before turning to her in concern.

“Are you okay?” he intoned carefully, shrugging off his suit jacket and draping it around her shoulders as the elevator began its descent.

She’d been shivering and hadn’t even realized it. She’d left her coat back at the party in her rush to escape.

The jacket still held his body heat, and the satiny lining slithered deliciously over her bare arm and collarbones. It smelled like him. Like a hint of scotch and expensive cologne and woodsy soap and freshly-pressed laundry, and that underlying, masculine scent of _Ben_... _Omigod he smells so incredible._

She fought herself from burying her nose in the rich silk-linen blend surrounding her and looked at him instead.

Here, in the elevator, his large body seemed to take over the small space. He wore dark slacks to match his jacket and a dark-blue, button-down silk shirt that clearly outlined the breadth of his shoulders and pectoral muscles. His inky-dark hair had been trimmed since the last time she’d seen him.

_I want to put my hands all over him..._

The pallor he’d had in the hospital had disappeared, and Rey noticed he’d acquired a slight tan in Miami. But his eyes. His dark eyes flickered over her in a way that told her he wanted to put his hands all over her, too.

She hadn’t answered his question, and he ducked his chin, slightly arching his brows at her in silent inquiry. She felt butterflies in her stomach.

_He’s so handsome. God, I want him._

“I’m okay,” she finally said. “I just. I just don’t want to talk about it.”

He assessed her for a few seconds before nodding. “Okay.”

His deep voice and dark eyes were _doing things_ to her, and Rey felt a little weak in the knees as the force of desire spread through her body in a hot wave from the tips of her toes to the roots of her hair.

“Hey,” he whispered, taking a step closer to her. “I missed you last week.”

“Hi. I, um, I missed you, too,” she whispered back to him unable to tear her gaze from his as she felt heat creep into her cheeks and warmth pool between her legs.

He stretched out a hand to caress the side of her face with the back of his index finger, causing her to inhale a shaky breath and briefly close her eyes at the slight pressure…

She opened her eyes and looked into his and she knew without a doubt his touch was just a prelude to sex. The kind of earth-shattering, bone-melting sex she’d never experienced but that she knew would rock the foundations of her world.

_He feels it, too._

His lips parted as if he were about to say something, but his hand dropped to his side at the gentle lurch of the elevator.

The muted ding of the bell announced their arrival at the lobby and the doors swished open. Ben put an arm around her, lightly holding her by the waist and silently guiding her out, through the lobby, through the double-doors of the building, and onto the sidewalk.

He didn’t speak a word to her, but she knew she would go with him. Anywhere he wanted.

 

A cab pulled up instantly, and Ben opened the door, helping her in before climbing in next to her. His heart was thumping a mile-a-minute and he gave the driver the address to their hotel, trying desperately to restrain himself from plunging a hand under her dress…

_Soon enough._

He couldn’t resist putting an arm around her, pulling her into his side and kissing the breath out of her, though.

Her soft gasp and eager response were all he needed to deepen the kiss into something a little more domineering, something a little more _intense_.

He felt her warm, slender hand snake around his neck and into his hair at the base of his skull, gently pulling and gripping his head to hold him there as he plundered her soft wet mouth with his.

He pulled her into him, shifting so she was angled half on him, squeezing her rounded hip with explicit promise.

He swept his tongue into her mouth and she groaned back into him, forcing a shudder of want to quake through him.

“Fuck, you taste good,” he murmured against her kiss-swollen lips. He kissed her again and arousal purred through his veins when she pushed her tongue into his mouth in response.

He felt the cab come to a stop and heard the driver clear his throat. Rey sat back, eyes glazed with need, and he reluctantly moved to pay the driver and exit the cab.

He pulled her out with him and into the hotel lobby, fully intending to pick up where they left off the next instant they were alone. She appeared to be totally willing and eager to follow his lead, and the sight of her in his jacket sent a shockwave of possessiveness through him, heightening his sense of urgency.

“My room? Or yours?” he asked doing everything he could to keep his desperation out of his voice. _I hope we can make it. I’d fuck her here in the lobby if she’d let me…_

“I left my key card – ”

“My room, then,” he stated decisively, pulling out his key card and grabbing her by the hand.

Hands clasped, they hurried to the bank of elevators leading to his room.

The minute they were in the elevator, he swiped his key card into the slot and punched in the number of his floor.

Then he fell on her like a starving man at a banquet, pushing her into the wall, sliding his hand up her silky-soft thigh under that dress. _Fuck she feels amazing..._

“You are so soft,” he growled into her neck, “You are gonna feel so good wrapped around me…”

Rey had her hands on his shirt, unbuttoning the top few buttons while planting hot, wet kisses on his neck and face. He lifted her up and braced her against the wall, grinding his throbbing erection into her belly.

“Ben,” she moaned, hands gripping his shirt, fingers digging into the muscles of his chest.

“Hmm? You want that?” he asked hoarsely, gently biting her neck at the pulse point, then licking the spot.

“Yesss,” she moaned again, and he felt her body shiver against his.

“You want to feel me? Right there?” He ground himself against her again, knowing she could feel every inch of his heated desire pressed against her through their clothes.

“Yes!”

He kissed her ravenously, pushing his tongue into her mouth with the promise of more to come when the elevator door shushed open. They were at his floor.

He roughly set her down, yanking her by the hand to his room with single-minded intent.

_I cannot fucking wait much longer._

But, as they strode quickly down the hall, Ben realized with a mental curse he didn’t have any condoms… and he almost died on the spot.

He stopped abruptly in the middle of the hallway, panting, and looked at her. She stumbled into him, confused.

“Why are we stopping?” she asked, worry clouding her beautiful eyes.

“Condoms. I don’t have any – ” his mind began calculating how quickly he could get back down the elevator to the sundry shop in the lobby, buy some goddamn condoms, and get back up to his room…

“Oh. Well.” Her chest was heaving, and her voice shook slightly. “I’m on the pill, and I don’t have any… diseases or anything…”

Her face turned beet red, and Ben had never felt so charmed and horny in his life.

“I’m clean, too,” he said quietly. “I’ve just never… done it without a condom.” He felt his own blush climb up his neck and over his face, all the way to the tips of his ears.

She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him in for an urgent kiss. “Well, shit, Ben. There’s a first time for everything. Now, let’s _go_.”

She didn’t need to tell him twice. He was already dragging her by the hand to his room. The idea of fucking her without a condom was going to send him over the edge.

 _I’ll be able to feel everything, every bit of her_ , he realized, dragging in a breath of pure, distilled lust.

They got to the door of his room – finally – and his hand only shook a little as he swiped the key card into the lock. The sight of that little green light was all the prompting he needed to push the door open and hustle her inside.

The room was dark and still, and Ben had no time to turn on the lights because he was too busy stripping his jacket off her while she fumbled with the zipper at the side of her dress.

Faded light filtered through the tall windows that lined the room, which would have to be enough because, frankly, his patience was just _gone_.

He wanted her, and he wanted her _now._

She couldn’t get a grip on the pull of the zipper, so Ben simply grabbed the edges on either side and ripped it right down the seam in three sharp tugs, pulling it aside and over to the long sleeve, and then stripping it away down her arm.

At the sight of her in just her lacy black underwear and strappy high heels, his mouth watered, and his breath caught.

She stood there for a second, then ran her hands from her hips to her breasts, pushing them up and arching her back.

“What are you waiting for?” She bit her bottom lip and the look on her face was pure invitation. She had no idea how she affected him, how she made him feel like a devouring animal unable to resist such a tempting, delicious offering.

 _Or. Maybe she does have an idea,_ Ben thought darkly, as his blood began to pound through his body in deep, sinister thrums.

He yanked his dress shirt open, buttons popping and skittering over the marble floor of the entryway. She took a step back and he vaguely hoped she’d run so he could chase her right into bed.

But as they moved into the room, something caught at the corner of his eye – a whispery motion. He realized it was a breeze from outside lifting the curtain over a window he was positive had not been open when he’d left the room earlier.

Ben glanced around in the dim light and noticed the wall of the living room.

_Something’s wrong._

A series of black shapes disfigured the smooth white plaster.

_No. Please, no._

“Ben? What?” he heard Rey ask as he stepped around her and flipped on the light switch. Rey turned white as a sheet and a small scream of terror erupted from her lips when she saw what was revealed by the light.

But Ben had already known what he would find scrawled on the wall.

**I’M BACK**

The starkly painted words sank into him with terrifying reality, above the image of a hastily painted happy face with exes for eyes.

Right between the crossed-out eyes, someone had taken the time to spray red paint in a horrible facsimile of what could only be interpreted as a gunshot wound.

_No. Not again._


	7. It's Just Us, Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Events in New York continue to unfold...

Ben could only stand there, gaping in despair as he realized two things.

First and foremost, Rey, who had just exclaimed “Bloody hell!” in a soft exhale, was no longer going to be even remotely interested in having sex with him, at least not in the next few minutes, distracted as she was by the ugly graffiti on the wall… And secondly, Ben’s stalker was back.

After these crippling realizations sliced through him, one after the other, and there were no mistaking the signs – too similar to last time – Ben barked at Rey, “Stay there!” then ran into his bedroom to see if anyone was still there.

But the rooms were empty.

He grabbed a hotel robe from a hook in the bathroom and quickly returned to find Rey hovering near the door, still naked, except for her underwear and shoes, looking terrified. She was staring at the message on the wall as if she couldn’t look away.

He wrapped the robe around her and murmured, “Hey, hey. It’s okay. There’s nobody here…”

She nodded, turning her liquid gaze to his. “Ben? What is going on?”

He sighed. _How do I explain this?_ Because to explain the stalker would mean he’d have to explain… so many things.

“I’ll tell you everything, I promise. But first, we need to –”

He was interrupted by a sharp rap on the door and Mitaka’s voice calling, “Mr. Solo?”

Ben turned and yanked the door open, letting Mitaka step inside. The younger man’s eyes went immediately to the graffiti on the wall and he raised his eyebrows.

Ben appreciated that Mitaka kept his gaze politely averted from Rey, who stood there in her hastily tied bathrobe, looking shell-shocked. However, Ben was sure Mitaka didn’t miss Ben’s half-ripped open shirt or Rey’s shredded dress, lying just nearby.

“Call your contact at the FBI. I think I know who shot me,” Ben told him, pulling Rey into his side.

Mitaka whipped out his phone, and they listened to him make the call.

 

By the time the New York FBI detectives arrived to ask questions and collect evidence, the hotel concierge had provided Rey with a key to her room, and Ben had made a decision he didn’t want to make.

He called his mom.

“Benjamin Organa Solo! How dare you leave my party without even saying goodbye!” His mother fired shots the second she answered the phone.

“Mom. I need your help,” Ben cut her off before she could pick up full steam. Otherwise, she’d go on forever…

“Help with what?” her tone changed instantly. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“How do you feel about having houseguests for the rest of the week?” Ben asked, not wanting to tell her details until they were in person. “Something’s happened at the hotel and… I think we’d be safer at your place.”

There was no fucking way he was leaving Rey alone, now that he knew someone was stalking him again.

“Of course you can stay with us! I’d love it. Your father will be thrilled. You said _houseguests_ , plural. Who else?” Leia had sounded almost heartbreakingly excited before becoming serious. “And what do you mean by ‘safer’?”

Ben sighed.

“I’ll explain when we get there. It will be me and Rey Niima. Um. And my bodyguard, Mitaka. And Rey’s dog,” Ben added.

The FBI people had finally gone, and Ben waited for Rey in her room while she packed her things. Beebee perched in Ben's lap, wagging his tail and licking at Ben's hands.

Beebee seemed to sense Ben’s multi-layered frustration and was quiet for a change. Ben unwillingly found himself enjoying the dog’s company. Beebee was kind of cute when he wasn’t yapping in his ears.

“You might want to plan for Finn Storm and Poe Dameron, too… are they still there at the party?” Ben went on, listening to the sounds of Rey in the other room, packing. 

“Yes, they are outside – Ben! What is going on?” Leia’s exasperation came through loud and clear.

“Thanks, Mom. We’ll be there in an hour or so,” Ben said firmly, hanging up the phone before any more questions came forth.

He knew his parents had plenty of room in their six-bedroom penthouse – they frequently entertained large groups and had houseguests all the time. A small handful of celebrities would be nothing his mother couldn’t handle for the week. And, if Ben were being honest, he felt a bit better about the security at his parents’ building than at the hotel.

Luke was already staying with Ben’s parents, taking advantage of being in New York to spend time with them.

Ben patted the dog’s silky little head and prepared himself for a long night.

 

**Last week in Miami, while everyone else is in Atlanta…**

Ben couldn’t shake the feeling he’d been deliberately targeted. That the shooting had not been accidental or random.

He adjusted his sling, which he had to wear for the rest of the week to stabilize his arm.

Fortunately for him, whoever had shot him used a small-caliber gun, and the .22 bullet the doctors had removed had only hit the meat of his shoulder. The bullet had remained intact, surgery went well, and Ben would heal in a couple of weeks.

While he was thankful he wasn’t dead or in need of more extensive surgeries and months of physical therapy, he was not thankful for his current predicament.

Mostly because he was so far away from _her._

 _She stayed with me,_ he thought. _She said I wasn’t alone…_

An uncomfortable pang went through him as he realized how tough he’d been on her over the past week. _It’s no wonder she was fucking with me – I’ve been an asshole._

He had told her she was acting like a little girl, but in reality, he had been pretty childish, too… _Because I want her, and I don’t know how to behave around someone who has the power to crush me?_

He had meant it, though, when he’d told her he would fight back. His days of allowing a woman – or anyone – to walk all over him were long gone.

His eyes strayed to the newspapers spread out on the coffee table. The club fire had headlined most of the papers, but thankfully both Ben and Rey had not been identified by the paparazzi, although Finn Storm had been recognized and was featured prominently in many of the stories.

It probably wouldn’t hurt publicity for the show. Hopefully.

Ben’s next few days in Miami had been mostly filled with sitting in front of an iPad, reviewing footage from the filming in Atlanta, and doing his best to ignore Mitaka lurking in the background.

Ben spent an inordinately long time watching the footage of Rey… and thinking dark thoughts about how screwed he was. That girl had him tied up in knots and she had no idea how much power that gave her… although he was positive Rey was sexually attracted to him.

Right before the fire had broken out, Ben had been ninety percent sure she would have slept with him that night. His thoughts darkened further as he realized she’d been practically panting for him when he’d had her pinned against that wall.

He wondered what she was doing right then, if she was thinking about him, too.

_Probably not. She’s busy. And I’m bored._

His shoulder ached, and he wanted a drink.

He wished he had taken up his uncle’s offer on the weed. _Fuck the morality clause._

_I’ll see her in New York._

_And when I do… I’m going to focus my full attention on getting her sweet little ass into bed._

_That is now my number one priority. Scratch that itch and get her out of my system once and for all._

Ben Solo, when properly motivated, was an unstoppable force when he wanted something – he just needed proximity. And opportunity.

**New York**

The hotel staff had bent over backward to provide Ben, Rey, Finn, and Poe the necessary staff and transport to get everyone and their belongings moved to the Solos’ penthouse. Ben was sure it was because they were hoping to avoid bad publicity or legal action in light of someone breaking into Ben’s room and vandalizing it.

Ben didn’t really care at this point. He had so many things to worry about right now, but the only thing he wanted to focus on was picking up with Rey where they’d left off just a couple hours before…

He could deal with his other problems and obligations after he’d slaked his lust once and for all.

They rode in a large van back to Park Avenue, Rey seated across from him on a bench seat. She stared at the city lights as they flashed by them, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. She had been very quiet ever since the hotel…

Hux and Phasma were staying at a different hotel and opted to remain where they were. Ben was relieved that Hux would be staying away. He still hadn’t forgotten Rey’s reaction earlier that evening.

_Something’s going on with those two._

He didn’t get the sense Hux had done anything to hurt Rey directly… But, still. _Something bad happened, and she’s scared to talk about it._

Ben decided he would let her keep her secrets for the moment. He had his own secrets he was loath to reveal, and he currently had other priorities to consider. Namely getting her naked again and finishing what they’d started.

He stared at Rey and felt the now familiar throb of want that hit him every time he looked at her.

He wondered if she had any idea what he wanted to do to her and willed himself not to get a hard-on.

 

Leia had efficiently shut down the party at her house and had the spare bedrooms made up and ready to go by the time everyone got there.

 _She could have run an army,_ Ben thought wryly, appreciating his mother’s efficient high-handedness for once.

His father, in typical Han Solo fashion, had stayed out of his wife’s way, allowing her to take charge while he lounged inconspicuously nearby, drinking a beer.

It was only a little after 11:00 p.m., but Ben was exhausted. His shoulder ached, although it seemed to improve with each passing day.

“Benjamin, you look dog-tired,” Leia informed him, and Ben could feel her eyes running over his five o’clock shadow and the stress that surely haunted his eyes.

His mother never missed a thing, and Ben was positive she had also taken note of the missing buttons on his shirt.

He waited for her to criticize him for not even shaving his face for her party, but she simply said, “Go on up and settle in for the night. We can talk in the morning.”

“Thanks, Mom,” he muttered, noting the way his mother’s eyes reflected concern and command in equal measures. “Night. And thanks.”

“Goodnight,” she said and this time when she tilted her head to him to kiss his cheek, her lips actually made contact. He felt a bit guilty, remembering his earlier bitterness towards her. On a whim, he wrapped her in a brief hug and felt a little happy when she gave him a surprised hug in return.

Then he went upstairs for a hot shower and some plotting on how to get to Rey...

He was surprised his mother had assigned him a different room than the one he usually stayed in, but she had simply told him Luke was in that one already, so Ben was stuck with the room that shared a bathroom with the room on the other side.

Knowing his mother, Mitaka was probably in there, already settled in.

He couldn’t quite bring himself to ask which room Rey was in – that would be way too obvious. And while he was sure his parents were aware he was a fully-grown adult man who could do whatever he wanted, he was also fairly sure they wouldn’t approve of him prowling through the penthouse in the middle of the night with the full intent of fucking one particular houseguest until she couldn’t walk straight.

He went into his room and stripped off the half-destroyed button-down shirt.

He'd ripped her clothes off earlier, then his shirt… _what room are you in, Rey?_

Knocking softly on the door to the shared bathroom, Ben went in after a few moments of silence, glad Mitaka wasn’t in there. He quietly locked the door on the other side, stripped off the rest of his clothes, turned on the water, and stepped into the shower. He briefly considered relieving some of his sexual tension under the hot spray...

But the thought of nothing but a door between him and a relative stranger occupying the other room prevented him from taking certain matters into his own hands.

After showering, he wrapped a towel around his waist and shaved his face. If they were filming tomorrow, he might as well not look like a total ruffian…

He turned so he could look at the bullet wound in his shoulder. It would leave a scar, but it was healing well. He rolled his shoulders a few times, testing for pain, and he was pleased to only feel a twinging pull, not the deep, sharp ache that had plagued him for days after his surgery.

He had just finished brushing his teeth when he heard a soft knock on the locked door to the other room. _Mitaka._

He spat out the toothpaste, quickly rinsing his mouth before opening the door to admit…

Not Mitaka.

At the sound of Rey’s little “Oh!” of surprise, Ben realized his mother was even more devious than he’d previously thought.

Rey stood there, wearing a tight pink t-shirt which very clearly outlined the shape of her breasts and plain white cotton panties that were somehow even sexier than the lacy black ones she’d worn earlier under the dress he’d ripped off her…

His heart skittered to a stop as he took in the sight of her, mouth agape. He felt her eyes roam hungrily over his slightly damp, naked chest.

_Proximity._

He opened the door wider and gave her a welcoming smile he was sure came out as more of a predatory curl of his lips…

_Opportunity._

“I didn’t – I thought maybe it was Finn in here!” Rey told him, eyes wide.

“It’s just us, now,” he commented darkly. Ben felt a pull of jealousy at the thought of another man, gay or not, seeing her like this.

It must have shown on his face. Along with his unmistakable desire for her…

She looked like she was going to turn back and run for it.

For a fraction of a moment, he tried to put a leash on the lust monster trying to chew its way out of his chest…

_She looks scared. Surprised. On the verge of flight…_

But Ben didn’t give a shit.

Ben didn’t give a shit about anything but getting his hands on her skin and his dick between her legs. Maybe that made him an animal, unable to control his single-minded craving.

At the moment, he didn’t care.

Because deep down, the beast in him was not going to let this tempting gift out of his lair, now that it had so unknowingly wandered right to him...

_Enough is enough._

_You’re not going anywhere, sweetheart._

At her proclamation she thought it would be Finn Storm on the other side of the door, Ben’s eyes turned obsidian and flickered over her possessively.

Rey felt a thrill, a low swooping in her belly – like being on a roller coaster – and froze. His full, luscious mouth was curved in something like a smile… it was not a friendly one.

This was the look on his face he’d had when he’d cornered her at the club and trapped her against the wall. The look he’d had when he’d called her out on her bullshit games and then kissed her breath away… The raw lust she saw again slightly alarmed her.

But. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.

Somehow, earlier that evening in the cab and in the elevator, he’d seemed more _desperate_. Unrestrained. Less… in control.

But now.

Rey felt like she’d wandered into a monster’s den and she was its next meal…

…and damn if it wasn’t the most exciting thing she’d ever felt.

He just stood there, staring at her with burning intensity. His thick, dark hair was slicked back, miraculously carved chest shining slightly from the steam of the shower, face smooth and cleanshaven.

And he smelled amazing. Like soap and expensive aftershave and that masculine scent of his skin that was unique to him and utterly appealing.

She wondered what she would have to do to entice him a little closer… and as it turned out, all she had to do was take a step back.

He stepped forward, muscles flexing slightly, and her mouth went dry.

He ducked his chin. “Running away?” he queried softly. His deep voice thrummed into her, making her heartbeat stutter and skip.

She shook her head, even as she took another step back into her room.

He took another step toward her, clenching his jaw.

_Fuck. He’s big and hot, and he is … chasing me._

Her bare feet sank into the plush carpet of her bedroom, taking slow measured steps backward, and she felt desire ricochet through her, pooling warm and wet between her legs.

He stalked her, calmly, but without hesitation.

_What is he going to do when he catches me?_

Because she had no doubt in her mind she was going to let him catch her. Her heart thudded under her ribs and her breathing hitched erratically.

She felt her nipples pebble under her t-shirt and knew it had nothing to do with the temperature of the room… She saw him notice.

He drew his lips back, pushed his tongue out over his lower lip and bit it, pulling at it between his teeth as if he were contemplating how to devour a particularly tasty morsel.

“That door locked?” he finally asked, indicating her bedroom door.

She nodded, stepping back from him yet again. She was running out of room to retreat. Eventually, she knew her legs would bump up against the bed. And then...

She was also running out of air. His presence filled the room. He was inching closer and he looked huge and horny and … hungry.

His eyes held hers compellingly.

“Take off that t-shirt, sweetheart.” His tone was soft but commanding.

A whisper of rebellion snaked through her.

“Take off that towel, and I will,” she challenged him. _Oh, please let me see what you’ve got under there…_

She’d been wondering about a certain part of him for a while, ever since she’d seen him at the pool in Miami… He’d pressed it against her on the dance floor and it had felt pretty impressive…

He arched a black brow at her and frowned, saying again, “Take off the t-shirt. _Now_.”

_Arrogant, domineering bastard._

He took another step closer until they were separated by mere inches. She could feel his body heat rolling off him, sinking into her pores. But he wasn’t touching her, and she realized he wouldn’t until she obeyed him.

 _Is he going to be this controlling all night…?_ she wondered, finally giving in with a flutter of her lashes and a small sigh of resignation… not that she totally minded, as they would both be getting what they wanted... She pulled her t-shirt over her head and heard his sharp inhale.

She took another step back and felt her legs brush against her bed.

_No more room to run._

He saw it, too, and his softly menacing smile became a wickedly carnal sneer.

He hadn’t even touched her, yet, and she was already wet for him.

“Your turn,” she whispered, thinking to take back some of the control in their little power struggle.

He roughly pulled off the towel tucked around his waist and flung it to the side. And her jaw dropped at the sight of him.

_Holy shit._

Ben had a gorgeous body, Rey knew. She’d seen him in a speedo and felt him up-close and personal a few times. His heavy-boned frame was thick with muscle, shoulders and pecs carved from marble, every inch of him built to dominate by his sheer physical size.

Fully aroused and naked, he was somehow even more intimidating, physically, as if clothing only provided an illusion of restraint.

And with that illusion gone…

Rey wasn’t tiny but standing there in the face of his aggressively aroused body… she felt a bit helpless. As if he could take whatever he wanted, and she would let him.

“Take those off,” he muttered, indicating her panties. Other than the heat in his eyes and his massive hard-on pointed right at her, he gave no indication he was as flustered as she was.

 _No, that’s not true._ His hands were clenched at his sides as if he were restraining himself from jumping on her.

Some kind of silent communication passed between them and she obediently stripped off her underwear.

In the soft glow of her bedside lamp, she stood there, letting him inspect her with just his gaze, silently willing him to finally, please, put his hands on her and make good on that promise he’d started back at the club in Miami.

 

Ben stood unmoving, watching her as she stripped for him, holding on to his self-control by the thinnest of threads. If he didn’t hold himself back, he would fall on her like a feral beast, and he knew if he let himself lose control like that… she would own him, body and soul.

And then she parted her lips and said his name and the thread snapped taut from the strain.

He pushed her back onto the bed, following her down to finally, finally take what he’d been thinking about, the obsession that had plagued him endlessly for days, weeks, forever…

She braced her hands on his arms as he crawled onto the bed, hovering over her, pressing himself down into her soft curves and it was heaven.

Every nerve ending in his body crackled with electric tension at the sensation of her silky skin against his. Every neuron in his brain fired at the stimulation of her soft gasps as he rubbed his chest into hers.

Settling his weight into the cradle of her parted legs, he kissed her, pushing his tongue into the soft, wet cavern of her mouth, relishing how she responded so enthusiastically.

She tasted divine. Her breath mingled with his as she kissed him back, matching his hungry ferocity in a way that made his blood pound and his head spin.

Her hands were all over him, and it was going to end him before they even got things started. He snagged one of her hands in his and pinned it down, next to her head, deepening his kiss by sweeping his tongue into her mouth.

Her body trembled underneath him and he was having trouble remembering his original intention to fuck her into submission, get her out of his system, and move on. Because there was no way he could move on from this.

She arched her chest into his, seeking friction, and he decided he wanted nothing more in the world than to taste the rosy tip of her breast.

When he wrapped his lips around a nipple and suckled gently, she groaned loudly, and he felt the hand he had pinned down spasm and jerk in his grip. Her other hand clutched at his hair, holding his head in place as she murmured incoherently…

Her face was flushed, eyes wide with passion, telling him without words to keep going.

Not even getting shot again could make him stop. His life, his entire existence, depended on keeping her there, moaning under him.

His painfully hard erection pushed into the soft flesh of her inner thigh, and he felt the heat and wetness between her legs pressing rhythmically against his hip every time he sucked and pulled at her nipples.

He pulled back to stare at the soft roundness of her breasts, wet from his mouth and now covered in red marks. He decided he liked the look of those marks on her… he kissed a hot trail up to her neck, licking and sucking at her as if he couldn’t get enough.

Because he would never get enough. And he wanted more.

He snagged her other hand and pinned it to the other side of her head, shifting his hips to rub a bit more explicitly against her, kissing her until she moaned into his mouth.

“Please,” she begged.

_Oh, she has no idea how much I like the sound of that…_

He moved his hands to her legs, spreading them a bit, adjusting her so she was angled to receive him. Her hands, now freed, gripped his arms and she said again, “Please. Ben.”

“Fuck, I love that you want this so much,” he admitted, bracing himself over her with one arm while gripping himself with his other hand.

“Ben, please!” Her neck arched, eyes pleading into his, and she lifted her hips to him invitingly.

He rubbed the dripping head of his shaft against the soft, heated flesh between her legs and almost came right then and there.

_Make her say it._

“Tell me what you want,” he demanded, glaring at her in a last-ditch attempt to maintain the upper hand.

“I want. Your dick. In me,” she panted, glaring back.

_Yessss…_

He nudged himself into the wet entrance to her body and realized immediately it was going to be a very tight fit.

“Rey. Goddamn, sweetheart, you’re so tight,” he ground out, biting his lip when she arched her hips.

He knew what she wanted, but he didn’t want to hurt her. Sweat beaded on his forehead with the exertion of being gentle. His body was screaming for immediate gratification. He made one last attempt to bring himself into line.

“More!” she demanded, trying to push her hips up into his.

_Give up control now, and she will rule you, Ben._

Without the barrier of a condom, the feel of her flesh against his was almost painfully pleasurable.

“Ben! Please!” She groaned desperately, dragging her fingernails down his chest. _Ah, fuck it._

And the taut thread holding the last of his control snapped cleanly in two.

In one long, hard push, he buried himself in her, all the way to the hilt, reveling in her strangled scream of pleasure.

_Oh, fuck, yes._

He leaned down to kiss her open mouth, dragging himself out of her then thrusting back in as he plundered her mouth with his tongue.

She clung to him as if he were the only thing anchoring her to reality, and he felt the godlike sensation of power mix with a terrifying vulnerability.

He pulled his mouth from hers and thrust into her again, eliciting another little scream of delight from her.

“Yeah?” he whispered against her mouth. “Am I giving you what you want, Rey?”

“Yes!” she cried, clutching at him, eyes flashing rebelliously.

“You want more?” he demanded. “Right here?” He gave her a particularly ruthless thrust and a twist of his hips and felt her clench around him like a hot, wet vice.

She didn’t answer, so he did it again, and this time she gave him a broken sob of pleasure that made his chest constrict and his balls tighten.

“More,” she moaned, and her body arched under his.

Without a condom, he could feel every slick, heated inch of her.

“Mmmm. Your pussy feels so good, sweetheart,” he muttered, leaning down to scrape his teeth against her sweat-dampened neck as she writhed under him.

Each drag and thrust pulled exquisitely at his throbbing length, and he increased his pace, grunting hoarsely at the agonizingly sweet friction.

Ben was totally captivated. He might be the one pinning her to the bed, but he was the real prisoner, he realized. He knew it and he didn’t fucking care.

Every jarring push against her depth made her breasts jiggle. He bowed his back to kiss them and pulled a nipple into his mouth. They moaned together, the sounds synchronized with the squeezing pressure of her body surrounding his cock.

“You feel so good, Ben – give me more,” she purred at him, stroking his hair, now damp from sweat rather than the shower. Her eyes burned into his at her request, and he gave in immediately.

He reared back and gripped her under the knees, pushing them up and out, locking her into place so he could drive into her more deeply and without mercy. So he could watch the veined, ridged length of his sex pound into the flushed pink flesh between her legs.

“You like it hard like that don’t you?” he panted, ruthlessly fucking her into the mattress. “That’s gonna make you come, isn’t it?”

 _Fuck. She’s fucking ruining me for other women,_ he thought desperately, unable to tear his eyes from the delicious sight of his body thrusting into hers.

She moaned, and the sound reverberated through him like a sonic boom, making him redouble his efforts.

“Am I going to make you come, Rey?” he asked, not expecting an answer, really. Just saying it, knowing he was the one doing this to her, making her moan and scream and clench around him, was enough to bring him closer to the edge, too.

The sweat from their bodies intensified his thrusts, creating a slippery slide of skin on skin… He could feel her body getting tighter around him and he knew she was close.

He flipped his hair out of his face and pressed her down, adjusting her legs so they were wrapped around his waist, bracing himself on one arm so he could stroke her hair and neck, down her chest, to feel the smooth muscles of her belly.

_She’s perfect and soft, and mine…_

She moaned again, and Ben realized it was _this_ , the experience of taking a beautiful woman, of knowing she was letting him have her, this was the reason why men wrote music and epic poems and started duels and wars…  

He moved his thumb to her clit and stroked it, causing her to moan, “Oh, God, yes, don’t stop, Ben, don’t stop!”

“I’m not stopping until I feel your orgasm, Rey,” he vowed breathlessly. “And then I’m going to fill up this tight little pussy with cum… and then I’m gonna fuck you again and again… all night…”

Her head rolled back, and she was making the most erotic noises, little squeals of pleasure every time he rocked his pelvis into her and thumbed her clit.

_So fucking gorgeous. I’m done for..._

“That’s right. Show me how much you like it,” he told her, rolling her clit under his thumb as he pushed into her as deep as he could. 

His eyes locked on hers, and, still pounding into her with the last of his strength he snarled at her, “Come for me, Rey… right now…”

“Oh, yes!” she screamed, “Yes! Ben!” and he felt her inner muscles clench down on him in hard rippling contractions.

At the sight and sound and feel of her letting go like that, he surrendered with a vicious growl against her neck, allowing her to pull him right into heaven with her, wringing his own orgasm from him in a frenzied pumping of his hips and hot spurts of ecstasy.

His whole body quaked and trembled at the force of it, and he noted at the back of his mind that she was clinging to him and moaning his name as he emptied himself into her…

They came down together, both sweating and gasping for breath, and she was so beautiful, staring at him in amazement…

He kissed her gently, bracing himself on his forearms so as not to crush her.

And while his body was finally sated, his mind was uncomfortably, acutely aware of how having sex with Rey was _not_ going to get her out of his system.

Not even a little.


	8. You're So Lonely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a wild night, Ben shares a little about his past.

_Dammit. I am so fucked,_ he thought in the shaky, mind-altering aftermath of the most amazing sex he’d ever had.

Ben felt a momentary panic as he realized he might possibly be falling for Rey. Then he felt anger.

At himself.

_There is no way you are doing this to yourself again, Solo._

_It’s just because this is the first girl who let you fuck her without a condom._

_That’s all._

Glad he’d worked that out so quickly, Ben turned his attention fully back to Rey, sprawled under him with a very sated look on her face.

He kissed her gently as he slowly disengaged his body from hers. Their shuddering breaths mingled together, and she let out a sorrowful little moan as he pulled away from her.

His heart skipped a beat at the sound.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” he murmured, sweeping his hand from her shoulder, lightly down her breast, over the flat plane of her belly, straight to the dripping apex of her thighs.

He didn’t want to stop touching her, even if he needed a minute to… recharge.

But, he knew she would be extra-sensitive right now. He might need a few minutes for another round… but she didn’t.

He pushed two long fingers slowly into her, feeling the hot, slippery wetness in fascination. Her eyes widened, and she gasped.

Her hips arched into his hand and she cried out.

“Didn’t get enough just now?” he curved his fingers up, gently rubbing inside her while thumbing at her clit in a steady circle.

She was impossibly wet. From both of them.

“You still want more?” He moved his hand again and felt a surge of wetness add to the already slick texture of her heated flesh. He sucked a hot kiss into the side of her neck, just under the soft, sweat-dampened hair behind her ear.

_I will never get enough of this. The smell of her. The taste._

“Oh, fuck! Ben!” she groaned, arching her hips harder into his hand.

“Want me to make you come again, right now?” he asked her, not stopping with his hand. He teased the side of her neck with gentle, biting kisses.

“Fuck, yes!” she sobbed, breathing so raggedly he hoped she’d be okay. But he didn’t stop. Her thighs were slick with cum. His fingers were drenched in it.

He was getting hard again just from doing this. He increased the pressure of his hand and bit the side of her neck again, less gently this time. She gave him a ferocious squeal, flinging her head back in rapture.

She couldn’t get enough either, by the look and sound of things.

“You like what I’m doing?” he nuzzled at her neck, then moved down to suck the tip of her breast with a tenderness that did not match the now near-brutal movements of his fingers.

He pushed a third finger into her, feeling her stretch around him. She screamed when he did it, a hoarse, incoherent sound that sent a lick of flame straight to his gut.

“Oh, Rey. You’re insatiable, aren’t you?” He pumped his fingers into her, harder. He felt her clench around him and ruthlessly scraped the tips of his fingers against her g-spot.

“You just can’t get enough can you?” he prodded relentlessly, watching her face, locking eyes with hers.

She was panting and screaming in rhythm to his hand between her legs, glaring at him with unmitigated passion.

The flame in his belly curled into a wicked-hot blaze.

“God, you’re so fucking loud.” He leaned over and kissed her hard as she came on his thrusting fingers. Before she finished, he slipped his rigid length into her and felt the last few contractions of her orgasm squeezing him.

A savage growl ripped from his throat at the sensation.

She screamed his name when he did that, and he knew it was because he was hitting her deeper with his cock than he could with his fingers. After a series of shuddering, clenching spasms that left her trembling and him nearly cross-eyed with lust, he pumped his hips a few times and looked into her eyes.

She looked wrung out. But he was just getting warmed up.

“Oh, we’re not stopping now, sweetheart,” he said, sliding into her easily now that she was dripping wet.

“Oh, fuck,” she muttered, clutching at his arms, a wild look in her eyes.

“I’m not done with you, yet,” he assured her. “Not even close.”

 

 

Ben was dead asleep when a sharp rap at the bedroom door interrupted his very pleasant dreams. He quickly realized where he was. Rey was wrapped around him like a starfish, plastered to his side, naked, and snoring softly.

_I could wake up to this every day and not complain._

The room reeked of sex. The sheets were a tangled mess. The lamp on the nightstand was still on.

_We must have passed out after that last time…_

At another, louder knock, Rey’s eyelashes fluttered open, her sleepy eyes meeting his before Ben heard his father’s voice, “Rise and shine, kids! Breakfast is here and if you don’t come down soon, Leia’s coming up…”

_Shit. He said kids._

If Han Solo knew Ben was in Rey’s room, then… either he heard them last night or someone else had mentioned the fact to him.

_Actually. There’s no way they didn’t fucking hear us._

Ben groaned and kissed Rey on the forehead. He wanted nothing more than to stay in bed with her all day. He definitely wouldn’t mind avoiding his family right now…

But they had a seven-thirty a.m. curtain call and the clock by the bedside table told him it was already five-fifteen.

Rey blinked up at him and Ben heard Beebee yelp and growl from somewhere beyond the bed.

Last night, he hadn’t even realized the dog was in the room with them until he’d finished fucking Rey’s brains out for the third time.

He’d had her on all fours, gripping her hips so hard he was sure she’d have bruises in the morning. She’d been bucking and squirming under him, a hot, sweaty mess while he yelled, _“You want that? You like that?”_ while ramming into her over and over. Every time she’d screamed, _“Yes!”_ in response, it had shot shivers of want right through him.

He’d come so hard he’d practically bellowed, _“Oh, fuck-yeah-fuck-yeah-fuuuuck!”_ at the top of his voice while Rey screamed, _“Yes, Ben! Give it to me! Harder! Oh! God! YES!”_

_There’s no way anyone in a twelve-block radius hadn’t heard that._

Maybe it had been a bad idea to stay with his parents.

At the racket they’d made, Beebee had announced his presence with a sharp series of yips that Ben had mostly ignored before passing out on top of Rey…

Now awake, she watched him with an inscrutable look, a slight frown furrowing her brow. He looked back, trapped in the soft hazel color reflected back to him.

What did he even say to her right now? Because after everything they’d done last night… after everything in their past… Did they still hate each other? Were they going to be friends, now? Friends with benefits?

Ben didn’t really think of Rey as a friend. They hadn’t really been all that friendly to each other, except for the sex and right after he'd been shot...

In fact, until very recently, he’d thought of her as a royal pain in the ass, and one of the main reasons his company was currently in its financial predicament.

_If she hadn’t backed out of that contract…_ he’d never have been forced into making the deal he’d made with Snoke.

_No. That was my decision, and mine alone. Not her fault._

Still. He’d been furious with her five years ago and seeing her again on the set of American Stars for the first time had brought up a lot of anger.

Then at the club, after she’d teased the hell out of him and when he learned she’d been messing with him, he’d fully intended to play dirty and get revenge…

And after the fire, he’d been both worried about her and aroused and frustrated… He’d still wanted to fuck her into submission. But he’d also wanted to protect her and kiss her senseless… _and get her out of his head._

Beebee yipped again, pulling Ben from his thoughts, and Rey sat up, giving him a sleepy smile, “Yes, Beebee. I’m up.”

_Time to face the music_.

 

When they got downstairs, everyone else already stood around the massive kitchen island, helping themselves to food and coffee.

Ben had popped over into his room to grab jeans and a t-shirt while Rey threw on a cute little white sweat suit that covered most of the love bites on her neck and chest. The sight made Ben’s hands itch to run themselves over her soft curves.

_Her makeup artist is going to have her work cut out for her_ , Ben thought, a little smug. _Or, Rey will just have to wear a turtleneck._

They agreed they would go downstairs together, the unspoken knowledge between them that two was better than one, especially in awkward situations.

_And it will be awkward, no doubt._

At the sight of them coming down the stairs, particularly Rey, who looked to be a bit shaky in the legs, Finn, Poe, and Mitaka all burst into a round of applause. Luke looked confused and also clapped his hands a few times.

Ben ignored them, eyeing the food on the island.

Leia had worked her magic and had breakfast delivered by a local catering company, complete with a large silver carafe of coffee, which Ben immediately zoomed for.

He was starving, but needed caffeine first.

As he approached the group, Ben heard his father saying, “…must be nice to have that much energy, is all I’m sayin’...”

_Here we go._

He glared at his dad, silently willing him to stop it.

Han returned his glare and muttered, “Girl’s definitely got a voice on her… _Loud._ Really projects... _"_

Leia shot him a look and murmured, "Han."

Han went on persistently, “Too bad the boy can’t carry a tune for shit, he’s got some pipes on him, too…”

Rey turned a lovely shade of scarlet, and Ben felt his own cheeks heat.

_She had been loud. She’d screamed for me, moaned my name, sobbed with pleasure when I made her come, over and over…_

Hands down, it had been the best night of his life. It was tough for him to feel too sorry about it.

He ignored his dad sitting next to the coffee and changed trajectory, giving his mother a quick peck on the cheek before loading up a plate for Rey.

Ben watched Beebee follow Rey to the sliding door to the patio, which she opened to let him out, so he could do his doggie business on the little grassy potty pad outside.

Finn was watching him watch her and had a serious look on his face for a fraction of a moment. Ben caught the expression and looked away guiltily.

He knew Finn was like a brother and best friend to Rey, the girl he’d basically just fucked until she couldn’t walk straight… Ben didn’t have anyone like a brother or best friend in his life, but he imagined Finn’s protectiveness would be fierce.

“Well, what do you expect? They’re young – kids will be kids,” Leia murmured to her husband, continuing the conversation while the tips of Ben’s ears burned.

Ben had never felt less like a kid, especially after the things he’d done last night. He guiltily met Finn’s eyes again and tried for a small smile. It came out more like a grimace.

Ben didn’t know how to define his feelings for Rey at the moment, but he knew he’d try his best not to hurt her. He hoped Finn understood that.

Rey shuffled back to the group with a nervous smile, Beebee trailing just behind, and looked at the spread of food. Ben set her plate in front of her on the counter and pulled out a barstool for her, scooting it in so she could eat.

“Yeah, but they got no _finesse_ these days. It’s all wham-bam-done, no slow burn, no romance,” Han was now staring lovingly at his wife, who was smiling softly back at him.

“It’s all ‘wham-bam-done’ because they’re young enough they won’t throw a hip out with those kinds of acrobatics…” Leia muttered, before returning to her croissant. Han gave a vague rumbling acknowledgement and ate a forkful of eggs.

Finn and Poe looked fit to burst. Poe’s chest was actually shaking with repressed laughter.  

Ben noticed Mitaka attempt to appear as if he were loyally trying to ignore the conversation, but he was biting his lip in an effort not to laugh.

“Traitors,” he hissed mildly at the three of them, before he turned to Rey and asked if she wanted any coffee. He felt too relaxed to get truly pissed off.

A night of raunchy sex was apparently just what he needed to chill out.

Luke watched the conversation, wide-eyed. “I missed something? Why is Ben so calm? What’d I miss?”

Han raised an eyebrow. “If you didn’t hear the ruckus those kids kicked up last night, Luke, then thank your lucky stars…”

Han turned to Finn and Poe, both of whom were grinning widely.

Han scowled. “And don’t think it was just those two –” he jabbed a finger at Ben “– I’m talking about either. The whole place sounded like a goddamn bordello last night.”

Luke nodded with understanding. “Ahhh, so everyone paired off and had sex last night, except for me.” Luke’s eyes landed on Mitaka. “And you.”

Mitaka raised an eyebrow and said coolly, “Sorry, man. You’re not my type.”

Everyone chuckled and even Ben grinned.

“Benjamin,” his mother said after he’d dug out a mug from the kitchen cupboard in favor of the paper cups the catering company had brought. “I think it’s time for you to tell us what the hell is going on.”

Ben knew this was coming. He took a large swallow of caffeinated bliss and a deep breath. Then he started talking.

 

It began right after he’d created Kylo Ren Music. He’d just broken things off with his family, after a terrible falling out, and he’d gone to Alford Snoke for help.

Snoke had offered many times to mentor him, but Ben had always refused, until…

Ben looked up from the coffee he’d been contemplating while he spoke.

Leia’s dark eyes looked guilty and Han’s were simply veiled. Luke encouraged him to keep talking.

_They don’t need all the details, just the basics._

“We just want to know why someone is coming after you,” Luke said. “Apparently this isn’t the first time?”

Ben took another swig of coffee, then answered.

“I had recruited some talent, right after… After the wedding. Some really good musicians, and one of them had this guy with her. He said he was going to be the next big megastar. That he was going to change the world with his music… so, I bent my own rules and gave him a shot. His stuff was okay, nothing groundbreaking… but he was… he was _really_ off."

Rey was watching him intently, and Ben couldn’t hold her gaze. He hadn’t talked about this time in his life to anyone for a long, long time.

“This guy, he started calling me every day, asking when I was going to make him rich and famous. He stopped by the office one afternoon and interrupted a recording session. He wanted to know if I had sound equipment that could record his brain waves, because he could hear the sounds his thoughts made…”

“Sounds like Angel Dust, man,” Luke said shaking his head. “Wow. Dude must have been tripping balls.”

“No. He… just kept coming back and getting weirder and weirder. And then, when I finally figured out I needed to put a stop to it, I talked to the police about a restraining order. Turns out the guy had escaped from several mental hospitals in the past and had a record. It was enough to get him locked up for a while. I thought it was over until I started getting the messages.”

Ben glanced at Rey who was listening with a slightly horrified look on her face.

“The first one was… _I’m back_.”

After hiring Mitaka in Miami, Luke had only been told this hadn’t been the first time someone had tried to kill Ben. But Ben had kept most of the details to himself.

And there were some definite pieces Ben had left out. Only the FBI knew the full story.

Once he'd started getting the messages, the FBI had stepped in and told him the man had been using an alias, and he was a person of interest in several unsolved murders. 

Back then, Ben had decided not to say anything about that. To anyone.

He had been ashamed of how his failures had changed his life so irrevocably. _And someone else’s._

And apparently, now the stalker was back and trying to kill him again.

Mitaka interjected at this point. “It can’t be the same guy, though.”

Ben looked at him questioningly.

“I just got a message from the New York field office – Boba Fett is still in ADX Florence – a federal supermax prison, in Colorado – serving a life sentence for several gruesome murders. They were able to use DNA evidence from your case to pin the crimes on Fett and put him away for good.”

"Boba Fett? That was your fucking stalker?" Han bellowed. Fett's arrest had been all over the news, although his involvement with Ben Solo had been kept quiet in the media.

Still, Ben had followed the case, knowing his stalker had been connected to him. He’d known Fett had finally been put away.

But the vandalism of his hotel room was too similar to what had happened years ago.

“So it’s a copycat?” Ben asked, mind reeling. “How? Nobody else but me and the FBI knew what had happened… it was a closed trial...”

Ben hadn’t even told his wife or his parents about the stalking. _Or the other thing._  

“Benjamin. Why… your father and I could have helped, you know…” Leia said quietly.

Ben felt a flare of anger. “After everything that had happened, you two were the last people I’d have gone to,” he said bitterly.

_I’d never felt so alone, and it’s your fault._

He looked around at the concerned eyes all around him, as they waited for him to continue his explanation.

Rey, who had been standing next to him, listening, put a hand on his arm. She didn’t say anything, but the gesture comforted Ben more than he would have guessed.

He could almost read her mind in that moment. Her eyes held a wealth of understanding and sympathy.

_You’re so lonely. I see it. I see…_

After a painfully long silence, Luke said quietly, “Well. Security is going to be unreal for the next few weeks. So, don’t worry Ben, you’ll be okay. And Mitaka’s the best of the best.”

Mitaka nodded agreeably.

_No need for false modesty, there,_ Ben admitted. _Mitaka found me surprisingly quickly after leaving mother’s party last night._

Poe looked at his watch and muttered, “Shit! Is that the time? We’ve got to get moving if we’re going to be there and ready by seven-thirty.”

Everyone scrambled, and Ben glanced at his mom, who was watching him with her characteristic bottomless gaze.

Ben headed upstairs to get ready for the day, deep in thought.

 

He didn’t talk about how he’d been manipulated into marrying Aurra, in spite of his family’s strong objections.

He’d been legally an adult, able to make his own decisions.

Aurra was a couple of years older than him, and tall, with very pale skin, and super-model slender that Ben had thought was very glamorous.

Ben had been captivated by her long, red hair and endless confidence.

She talked to him and didn’t make him feel like a child.

Her father, Alford Snoke, ran the biggest entertainment industry conglomerate in the world – and still did. Ben had been impressed with both of them.

When Ben’s parents had found out he’d been seeing Aurra, they had tried to intervene. They had warned him, and it had driven him closer to Aurra and Snoke and put a wedge between himself and his family.

Over the duration of their courtship, Ben had worked day and night to build KRM, thinking to build a legacy for himself and his soon-to-be wife…and maybe someday for the family he’d always hoped to have.

Their whirlwind romance had died the minute he’d signed the marriage license, although it had taken over a decade for Ben to extract himself from the marriage.

His family had not even been invited to his wedding, and by the time Ben had realized it was too late to back out, thanks to an ironclad prenup and a father-in-law too powerful to piss off, Ben’s estrangement had been nearly complete.

He’d gone in with high hopes and a tender heart for the woman who had promised him the world. Those hopes had been crushed the moment he’d tried to make love to his new wife on their wedding night and she’d pointedly rejected him.

His family did not need to know the incredible solitude and embarrassment and regret he’d lived with. How he'd found a discreet escort service and formed a rock-hard shell around his heart.

Hope and love were for fools. They were feelings to be used to manipulate and get what he wanted, and Ben became very good at learning how to wield them.

Nor did anyone need to hear about his attempts to find comfort with those women, women who understood the rules of the game that Ben had quickly learned was the true way of the world.

There was no fucking way he was telling any of them about the dead prostitute that had been the evidence needed to lock up Fett for good.

 


	9. You Need a Teacher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey tries to teach Ben a lesson.

Rey knew she would have to get dressed before her stylist came into her dressing room. She didn’t want to explain the various marks all over her chest and neck or the faint purple bruises in the shapes of very large fingerprints forming half-circles around her hips.

She looked herself over in the mirror and felt that wonderful deep swooping sensation mix in her belly at the sight.

For just a moment, Rey allowed herself to remember just how those marks had gotten there, how Ben had pushed her to the point of total surrender, how he’d seemed to know exactly what to do to get her to come, the look on his face when he came, too… the way his eyes had burned into hers.

She thought about the way his large body had moved over her with restrained violence as if his passion could only be tempered by the strongest of wills… it had been so all-consuming. Every part of her, body, mind, and spirit, had been forced into the moment with him, her past and future long forgotten, lost in what he'd been doing to her…

She flushed and watched in the mirror as the color emphasized the marks on her skin… Warm bliss flowed through her when she thought about his plush, soft lips pressing into her skin, the sensation of him sucking kisses into her neck and shoulders and breasts…

 

Finn and Poe had been relatively well-behaved on the ride over to Radio City Music Hall, but Rey knew Finn had glimpsed her newly acquired blemishes and she sensed he was less than pleased about it.

A small worry began to burn in her like a tiny coal being fanned to life.

Finn had worked with Ben Solo a few times, and he’d always been fairly neutral about it. After the infamous ordeal between Ben and Rey in New York five years ago, Rey had been rabidly curious about him, but Finn had simply told her that Solo was good at what he did, easy to work with, a workaholic, and classic Type A personality.

Still. In spite of the morning’s teasing and applause, Rey sensed her friend was concerned for her. _About Ben? Why?_

She looked in the mirror again, trying to be objective.

Annoyance hit her when she realized the extent and placement of the blotches and bruises all over her.

_Dammit. I’m going to have to cover this up for weeks._

She hoped it wouldn’t interfere with whatever they’d planned for her music video. She was pretty sure it would.

Ben Solo. This was all his fault.

Not that she’d minded what he’d done… that had been incredible.

It was just that he’d gotten her so worked up the night before…she hadn’t had the presence of mind to think about how letting him do the things he’d done would impact her actual career.

Like, her body was a major part of her success. Her public image.

Her body being covered in love bites and sex bruises – regardless of how amazing it had been during the process of getting them – was not a family-friendly, teen-pop star look.

She looked like she’d been attacked. Which, in a way she supposed she had…

Rey swallowed her agitation and pulled on a black turtleneck micro-mini dress. Then she waited for her stylist to appear for hair and makeup.

It took a bit longer to get ready than it usually did, but she wanted to look flawless.

For him.

 

She arrived at the last possible minute to meet up with the judges for their approach to the front of the stage.

Phasma eyed her up and down and gave her a small smile of approval at the outfit. “That’s hot,” the tall blonde woman said, and Rey smiled her thanks.

But all Rey really cared about was what Ben thought. They’d hardly had a chance to speak to each other that morning, what with scrambling out of the penthouse to get to work on time. And, while Ben had been really sweet at breakfast, his big revelation about the stalker had taken up most of the conversation time.

Her heart beat faster at the sight of him in black jeans and a dark gray t-shirt. Just the sight of his body was enough to get her remembering what he’d done to her last night. How he’d made her feel… so helpless and powerful at the same time...

Ben had been facing away from her – they were to meet at the main auditorium entrance this time, making their approach down the main aisle through the already seated audience so they could shake hands and smile and wave through the cheering crowd.

When he turned around at her approach, Rey was immediately peeved: Ben maintained a completely straight face at the sight of her…

She’d hoped to have a bit more of an impact after everything that had happened the night before.

Her old insecurities came flying out of nowhere.

_You’re nothing. Nobody…_

Maybe he’d gotten what he wanted and was done with her?

He had been courteous enough that morning, especially after his family’s lighthearted teasing… but maybe he was always like that after… after sex?

She didn’t have a whole lot of experience for a frame of reference…

Had it been meaningless to him? Because it had rocked her world.

He greeted her with a mild mannered, “Hey there,” before turning back to his conversation with Finn.

Rey’s heart sank. _Hey there? That’s it? That’s all I get?_

Fuck that guy. No, wait. She’d already fucked that guy.

Her temper flared to life like a lit match held to gunpowder.

_If this is how he is going to treat me, fine._

In two seconds, she made a decision and excused herself for the briefest of moments to the ladies’ room.

Everyone groaned. They would have to wait for her and they were already running late.

 _Tough,_ Rey thought crossly. _They can wait._

Ben Solo needed to learn a lesson… and she was just the one to teach it.

_He didn’t like it? Too damn bad._

She was going to twist him like a pretzel.

 

When he got to the judges’ table, finally, Ben was thankful to be able to sit. He was sure he was walking funny because of his growing erection.

It did not help that half the audience seemed to be waving homemade signs with Finn Storm and Rey’s pictures together inside hand-drawn hearts. Or signs saying things like “America’s Star Sweethearts!” and “Finn + Rey” or worst of all just “FinnRey.”

Which was the stupidest thing Ben had ever seen. Didn’t these people know Finn Storm was gay and Rey… Rey belonged to him?

As of last night.

He felt slightly better knowing that underneath her turtleneck dress, she was covered in marks. From him.

Still, when he’d hoped Rey would be wearing a turtleneck today, it had been because he’d been hoping to sit through one day of filming – just one! – without being uncomfortably aroused.

When she came out of the nearby ladies’ room, she walked toward him with the wickedest smile he’d ever seen. Her smile had made his heart constrict and his dick throb.

The sight of her in a skintight, black minidress - which surely wasn’t long enough to cover anything - was _not_ what he’d been hoping for.

The dress looked like it had been painted on, clinging to her curves and down each arm in long, tight sleeves. And the damn thing ended way too short, just below the crease where her ass met the tops of her thighs.

The rest of her long, lean legs were bare, and she was wearing the sexiest fuck-me heels he’d ever seen.

How she could even walk in those shoes was beyond him, since he knew for a fact her legs had been shaky all morning. Because they’d been wrapped around him all the night before…

Her hair was pulled back into a sleek high ponytail and had been added to somehow, so her ponytail swung past her waist. Her makeup was simple, except for the red-red lipstick that exactly matched the bottoms of her Louboutin’s…

Ben briefly wondered what his dick would look like with a ring of red lipstick around it and immediately hated himself.

This was going to be another long day if he couldn’t get a grip on his hormones, which had apparently decided to revert back to teenagerhood…

_Fuck._

He’d done his very best to keep his face impassive – with the cameras everywhere, it would not do at all to be drooling over his costar, especially considering this was a family show.

But fuck. She was killing him.

 

Rey steeled herself for a fight. She had seen a glint of something in his eyes, but it hadn’t been the smoldering-hot desire she’d been expecting.

If anything, Ben had become even chillier and more aloof since she’d emerged from the ladies’ room.

Auditions dragged on, but Rey did her best to do a good job at judging. She tried to tempt a smile or goad some kind of reaction out of Ben all morning, but he wasn’t budging from his cool replies and lack of eye contact.

Which only provoked Rey’s insecurities. Maybe she had just been something to pass the time… maybe Finn had been right to be concerned for her.

Finn and Phasma were having a great time together – Phasma’s gentle sarcasm played well with Finn’s sweet honesty.

Rey tried to be bubbly and fun, but…

Halfway through auditions, Ben was still cold and stoic, and Rey was growing increasingly furious. Her heart sank as she realized he had probably just been doing what he’d always done: Be a domineering, arrogant asshole.

_Time to make the bastard pay._

She asked a nearby stagehand if she could borrow a pen to make some notes on the bios. The young man happily complied, pulling a pen from his front pocket.

Rey wrote on the back of the card in front of her and waited until halfway through the audition before casually passing it over the table to Ben.

 

When she’d passed him the card, Ben had been surprised. Rey didn’t usually interact with anyone during an audition, preferring to focus entirely on the singer. Although the person singing now would not be making it through to the next round, he was sure.

Curious, Ben picked up the card and read it.

_“I’m not wearing underwear. Thought you should know.”_

_Holy fucking shit._

He felt a flush creep up from under his collar and he slowly looked over at her, incredulous.

She was ignoring him and innocently watching the audition, foot tapping gently in time to the music.

_Why the hell would she tell him this. Now of all times?_

_Fuck, fuck._

He allowed himself to flare his nostrils, and that was it.

He’d been hanging on to the edge of his lust by his fingernails all morning. He’d been doing everything he could to prevent some kind of disastrous reaction to her from showing up on camera.

His company was on the line. His whole career. And probably Luke’s.

And Rey was teasing him. After everything… she was still playing games.

The pen she’d used was lying nearby and he snatched it up, scrawling his own message under hers.

 _“Stop it, Rey. Now’s not the time.”_ He underlined “not” a couple of times for emphasis.

The audition finished up and it was time for the judges’ reviews.

Rey glanced at his message and shook her head, a “no” in response to his written command.

Ben gritted his teeth so hard it was audible.

Finn started his critique, and Ben’s ears were buzzing as Rey picked up the pen and casually bit the end of it. Ben tried not to notice the way her tongue flicked out for the briefest of moments.

He was staring at her when she glanced at him from the side of her eyes.

She _was_ toying with him. Again. He was sure of it.

 _Bitch_.

He could see she knew exactly what she was doing, and rage and hunger mixed in him, pouring into his veins like gasoline.

_Why? Why is she doing this?_

It was Phasma’s turn for the critique and Ben only listened with half an ear.

He felt himself try to swallow the lump of overwhelming desire that had climbed up his throat and lodged itself there.

He couldn’t help himself from running his fingers through his hair.

His hands suddenly had to do something, anything that wasn’t grabbing the girl sitting next to him and turning her over his knee.

She set the pen down between them and gave her appraisal to the auditionee.

Thankfully, it had been three “no’s” in a row, so Ben didn’t have to speak. He wasn’t sure he could.

Ben recalled their conversation, if it could be called that, from the club in Miami and his vow to play or fight, leaving the choice up to her.

She was choosing a fight, apparently.

A thrill shot through him. _Fine_.

_Two can play this game._

Ben snatched up the pen and scrawled a message to her, sliding it across until she could see it. There was only one way to deal with this. Call her bluff.

_“You’re bluffing.”_

She sat up straight at that. She smiled, red lips stretching across white teeth in triumph. 

She looked at him and mouthed the words, “I’m not bluffing.”

 _Oh yes you are,_ he thought complacently, lifting a brow to her in challenge.

There was no fucking way she had the nerve to… she’d better not be fucking serious…

Ben grabbed up the pen and wrote his reply.

_“Prove it, then.”_

He stared her down with his most ferocious glare. She didn’t react for a full ten heartbeats.

Ben exhaled and sat back in his seat, smug.

_Aaaand that’s how we put a stop to that, sweetheart..._

Until.

Poe stepped forward to announce the next audition, Rey turned slightly in her seat, parted her legs by half a centimeter, just enough to draw his eye.

And for the briefest of moments, Ben could see…

She was indeed _not_ wearing underwear…

 

Judging auditions for the rest of the day was a total shit-show in Ben’s opinion.

But apparently, the audience loved it. Ben, who had been chilly before Rey’s little exhibition, had been glacial after that.

Sure enough, he got booed just about every time he opened his mouth.

He didn’t really care if the audience hated him. But Finn and Phasma were shooting him dirty looks, as well.

Rey, on the other hand, wouldn’t even make eye contact.

All he could think about was that briefest flash of pink flesh between her legs… and possibly a shadow of a bruise on her upper thigh.

He couldn’t stop himself from thinking of how he’d been the one to put that mark there, recalling the way her pussy had gripped him, the slick heat and texture of her, made unbearably erotic without the barrier of a condom, the way she’d gotten so wet for him when he’d fucked her with his fingers…

He was in bad shape by the time they broke for lunch.

Lunch was short, since they’d started late.

She’d managed to avoid him every time he tried to maneuver her into a conversation.

_She's definitely doing this on purpose._

By the time they were done shooting for the day, Ben was in one of the worst moods he’d been in for a while. Including after he’d been fucking _shot,_ after saving Rey Niima’s ungrateful little ass from a burning building. And even after finding out there was some Boba Fett clone out there trying to fucking murder him. Again.

His shoulder was starting to ache, probably a combination of last night’s sex marathon and the fact that he’d not taken any pain meds all day.

All in all, Ben Solo was in a very foul temper by the time filming wrapped up.

 

Everyone else had left for the night, and it was just Ben and Luke and a few others at Radio City finishing up with details and prepping for tomorrow.

After half an hour, Luke gave his nephew a long look and said, “Ben. You’ve had enough for today. Go home.”

Ben wanted to argue with him, but he really just wanted to get back to the penthouse, pour himself a huge glass of scotch, and have it out with Rey.

“Are you sure? I can stay, Luke,” Ben said, half-convincingly.

“I’m sure. You’ve been through a lot in past couple days. I've got this. Now scram,” Luke winked at him, and Ben felt a rush of gratitude for his uncle’s kindhearted nature.

Mitaka stood nearby, face impassive, but Ben could tell the bodyguard was tired, too.

Ben considered arguing with his uncle out of sheer obstinacy, but the look on Luke’s face stopped him.

Luke looked serious and concerned, so Ben agreed, none-too-graciously.

He would be meek for now and let Luke think he was going back early to get some rest.

Even if Luke had no idea what Ben was really contemplating. And it wasn’t restful. Not in the least.

Rey Niima needed to be taught some fucking manners. And he was just the one to do it.

 

Ben got back to the penthouse in record time and was thoroughly relieved to find a note from his mother telling him she and his father were out for the evening. Knowing the type of events they most likely attended, they wouldn’t be home until breakfast. _Good._

_Drink first. Then Rey. Then lesson._

Ben went straight to the wet bar in his father’s study, just off the living room. He knew his father would probably have a decent bottle of scotch stashed somewhere. It had been years since he’d been in his father’s study, but Ben was sure Han Solo had been and would always be a scotch drinker.

 _Like father, like son,_ Ben thought when he found a very nice bottle of Dalmore in a Baccarat crystal bottle sitting right on the bar.

Ben didn’t feel bad in the least about pouring himself a generous glass of amber liquid from what was probably a six-thousand-dollar bottle of booze.

 _Han Solo definitely married up,_ Ben thought harshly, as the smooth burn of alcohol warmed its way down his throat.

He was halfway through his drink when the sound of raucous laughter floated to him from the patio. 

Rey. Laughing. Men’s voices. Also laughing.

Ben slammed down the rest of his drink so quickly his mother would have yelled at him for disrespecting the 35-year-old scotch…

He didn’t care. He marched out to the patio. He knew it was probably just Finn and Poe out there with her, but still… he was pissed.

After the shit she’d pulled today, Rey did not deserve to be laughing. She wouldn’t be laughing for long.

Sure enough, when he reached the patio, Finn, Poe, and Rey were there in the hot tub. All three of them appeared to be passing around a joint, and Ben felt a small pull of jealousy, which turned into a full-blown wrath when he realized Rey wasn’t wearing a fucking swimsuit top.

_What is it with this girl and no clothes?_

 

Rey was just about to take a drag off the joint in her hand when she glanced up. Into the furnace-hot, whiskey-brown eyes of a livid Ben Solo.

_Shit-shit-shit-_

Finn and Poe had been laughing about something and stopped abruptly at the look on her face, both of them turning at the same time to watch Ben stalk calmly over to the hot tub and squat down next to Rey.

She sank down into the water, all the way up to her chin.

_-shit-shit!_

She had not expected him to be back so soon. She’d been planning on chilling out for a bit before heading to her room and barricading herself in there before he got back.

She knew she had been so bad today…

She knew Ben had been upset with her by the time she’d left. He’d tried to get her alone several times throughout the day, after her stunt with the no-panties.

She’d managed to avoid him and it had only increased her sense of danger and wild exhilaration, until she realized…

 _I might have taken things a bit too far,_ she thought, looking at Finn in a panic. She hadn’t expected her plan to rile up Ben to backfire so magnificently.

“Gentlemen,” Ben said, coldly furious. “I need to borrow Miss Niima for the evening.”

Finn, catching Rey’s alarmed glance, scowled at Ben. “She’s not going anywhere with you, man. Not unless she wants to.”

Rey’s heart began to thud in slow, sickening beats… Finn looked fiercely protective, and Poe’s eyes had darkened with a dangerous gleam, too. Neither one of them had missed the bruises and marks on her body, and both of them had commented concernedly when she’d slipped off her t-shirt and hopped into the hot tub with them.

Of course, she had reassured them both that last night had been totally consensual and great – but now, in the face of Ben hovering over her looking like he was contemplating murder…

_Shit._

“Rey. We need to have a chat, and I’d prefer not to have an audience.” Ben’s gravelly voice was full of threat and Rey swallowed a lump of fear.

 _I am in so much fucking trouble,_ she realized.

“Yo, dude, anything you have to say to her you can say in front of us,” Poe said, and for once his outgoing charm had an edge to it. Finn nodded, sitting up a bit.

Ben’s eyes flashed dangerously at the two of them.

“Okay,” he said silkily, surprising Rey.

And then her heart sank. He was going to –

“Wait!” she squeaked. “I don’t think they need to know…”

“That you spent the whole day filming a PG-rated show without wearing any underwear? In a miniskirt?” Ben finished acidly.

“What?!” Finn and Poe exclaimed at the same time.

“…and then proceeded to inform me of the fact by way of flashing me halfway through auditions, where it could have been caught on camera?” Ben went on ruthlessly.

Finn and Poe were staring at her in astonishment. “Rey! You didn’t!” Finn looked truly scandalized and Rey wondered if she should just sink the rest of the way under the water and end it all.

“Well. That explains why you were so pissed off today,” Poe said logically, nodding his head at Ben.

“Yep,” Ben bit off shortly, not taking his eyes off Rey. “So as an executive producer on the show, I need to have a discussion with Miss Niima about certain sections of her contract that she violated today. And, like I said, I’d prefer to do it without an audience.”

Rey felt two large hands reach into the water, hooking her under the arms, and drag her up. She hung there like a limp fish for just a second but before she could struggle, Ben had hauled her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, so her face was bumping into the small of his back.

She heard him calmly mutter goodnight to the guys, and Poe calling after her with a promise to look after Beebee for her.

Finn was silent.

And then true fear sank into her and she started to squirm, kicking out with her feet and pounding his back with her fists.

Ben almost dropped her when she started to wriggle. He hefted her onto his shoulder hard enough to knock the wind out of her and gave her a stinging slap on the butt.

She shrieked in outrage but stopped trying to get him to drop her – his long, purposeful strides had brought them to the stairs now, and she didn’t want to fall.

_Fuck, he’s strong._

“Ben! What the hell?!” she gasped when she could breathe again, as his hard, muscled shoulder dug into her abdomen.

He didn’t respond but kept walking down the hallway.

She looked around wildly, and from her position upside-down, she saw Mitaka poke his head out of his bedroom doorway. His eyebrows raised at the sight of her, naked and dripping, slung over Ben’s shoulder, and he quietly shut his door with a shake of his head…

 _No help coming from there,_ Rey thought wildly.

Ben carried her straight to his room and kicked the door shut. He brought her right to the neatly made-up bed and hefted her onto it with a muffled grunt.

She sprawled there for a moment before she tried to sit up and bolt for the door to the shared bathroom.

“Don’t. Move.” His voice was like smooth whiskey. Dangerously potent.

She froze.

_If I was hoping for a reaction, I guess this is something…_

He held her eyes, pinning her down with his gaze. _How does he do that?_

She couldn't move a muscle.

She’d never seen someone so angry with her before. Excitement and fear sizzled through her as adrenaline began to flow and spark into her nerve endings like electricity.

He glowered at her with a furrowed brow. His dark hair was messy from carrying her upstairs, hanging in his face in soft waves. It did not make him look less threatening. 

“Did your lawyers go over the details of your contract with you, Miss Niima?” he asked her with quiet severity. Plainly, he expected an answer.

“Yes, they did,” she replied. Her voice only shook a little.

“Did they cover the details of the morality clause in that contract?”

“Yes, they did,” she answered again. She couldn’t help a shiver ripple through her under his intense scrutiny.

“Are you aware of what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable conduct under the terms of that clause when you are on set, Miss Niima?”

She nodded. She was well aware.

He leaned over her, bracing his arms on either side of her, forcing her to lean back. She swallowed as his eyes drilled into her. The dark promise and fury there made her nipples pucker and her breath catch.

He smelled faintly of scotch, mixed with that tantalizing, undefinable scent of _him_. 

“Clearly not," he sneered.

She couldn’t stop herself from looking at his full red lips, currently pulled back into a faint snarl. She licked her own lips unconsciously.

The heat rolling off his body warmed her damp skin in a way that made her insides throb and pull with the memories from the previous night…

“Clearly you are _not_ aware of what is unacceptable, or you would _never_ have pulled the stunt you pulled today.” Ben pushed himself back off the mattress, standing in front of her again. “So, I think you need to be taught, in no uncertain terms.”

That sounded ominous. And exciting.

Rey's blood thrummed through her as she read the evident intent in his expression. He was going to teach her a lesson, and she was going to let him. 

_This is what it feels like to be tamed._

It took her breath away.

Ben pulled his t-shirt over his head and Rey’s mouth went dry at the sight of his pectoral muscles rippling under his pale, gorgeous skin…

“You need a teacher.”


	10. You're My Guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben teaches Rey a lesson she'll never forget.

He felt her watching him as he pulled off his t-shirt. She hadn’t budged since he’d ordered her not to move.

_You’re in my world, now, Rey,_ Ben thought darkly. And he was going to drag her down into hell with him if it was the last thing he did…

Throwing his t-shirt to the floor, he grabbed her ankles and hauled her to the edge of the bed, so her legs hung over the edge.

Last night they’d fucked in her room, and that had been fine with him.

But there was something to be said for having her here, in _his_ room – no matter how temporarily it was his. She was on his turf, now. Surrounded by _his_ things, _his_ presence. She didn’t own anything in this room except for the bikini bottoms he’d shortly be stripping from her.

But first.

It was time to make her understand why it was dangerous to play games with him.

She’d done it one too many times, and he was putting a stop to it. _Right. Fucking. Now._

“Lesson one,” he bit off. “It is _not_ appropriate behavior to flash your pussy at me, or anyone else, _ever_ , when you are on set. Do. You. Understand?”

She swallowed and nodded silently, and her eyes were huge.

“Say it.” His voice lashed out like a whip.

Her mouth gaped just a bit, then she dutifully repeated his words, “I understand.”

“What do you understand, Rey?” he prodded in his most unforgiving voice.

“I shouldn’t have done that. Flash you…” her voice trailed off and she watched him cautiously.

“You’re so right,” he said conversationally. “You definitely should not have done that.”

She sprawled in front of him, just a little out of breath. Her ponytail was limp and wet, hanging over her shoulder. The love bites on her neck and breasts and faint bruises on her hips and thighs were a glaring desecration of her smooth gorgeous skin…

She’d never looked more alluring to him.

The throbbing in Ben’s groin became a full-on ache, but he kept his face a mask of cold indifference.

She blinked up at him, lips quivering, and he felt the briefest spark of sympathy for her.

He instantly killed that feeling. This girl was reckless and headstrong, and stronger than she knew. He was beginning to understand that her willpower matched his own, and he knew he owned a formidable strength of will.

If he didn’t put a stop to her games now, she would make his life a living hell – more than she already had – for the foreseeable future.

_You’re going to have to learn this the hard way, sweetheart…_

He’d been right last night when he’d realized losing control with her would give her more power over him than he was willing to allow…

That thought infuriated him.

Ben leaned over to pull off his boots and socks, glaring at her through the dark hair falling over his eyes.

Part of him figured she might try to bolt the second he took his eyes off her. The other part was unbelievably thrilled by the fact she stayed put.

He casually tossed his sock away with a flick of his wrist and straightened. She tried to sit up and he pushed her down with a firm shove to the shoulder.

“Stay. _Down._ ” She sank back into the luxurious bedding, a slightly worried look on her face. Satisfaction curled through him.

_Oh? She obeys? Excellent._

He reached for his belt buckle and saw the briefest moment of panic in her eyes.

He slid his leather belt from his jeans, just slowly enough to make her wonder if he planned on using it on her.

He hesitated, considering the idea. It had certainly crossed his mind more than once today. She deserved a little bit of pain after the torture she’d put him through.

He wondered how far she would let him push this as he snaked the belt from the last loop and folded it in his hands.

He snapped the belt with a few sharp cracks. She flinched at the sound but stayed where she was.

_Oh, good. I have your full attention._

He tilted his head and licked his lips, pulling them away from his teeth in a slight smirk.

He glanced pointedly at her bikini bottoms.

She looked… excited. A bit defiant… and scared. _Not scared enough._

He snapped the belt again and she flinched again. Her eyes turned enormous, and her face paled a little.

_Better…_

Her eyes were glued to the belt in his hands. But he had a different punishment in mind for her tonight.

Her breathing relaxed just a bit when he dropped the belt to the ground. _Maybe another time,_ he thought.

He bit his bottom lip and reached for the damp swimsuit bottoms tied on either side of her hips. He pulled one of the ties, slowly, then the other, leaving the now untied fabric draped to cover her crotch.

“Lesson two,” he muttered, “Don’t ever offer something you aren’t prepared to give me. That's bad manners, sweetheart.”

He unbuttoned his jeans.

She whispered, “Okay,” and her quick acquiescence sent liquid fire unraveling through his body.

He felt the heat reach his neck and cheeks, a possible demonstration of weakness… but he didn’t care at the moment.

He unzipped and heard her breath catch.

Power coursed through him like a drug.

“Say it, Rey. What’s lesson two?”

“Don’t offer it unless I want you to have it.”

_Finally. She is fucking listening._

Because she really needed to pay attention to the next part.

He let his jeans hang from his hips couldn’t help himself from trailing a finger down the smooth length of her thigh.

“Lesson three,” he murmured before pulling off his jeans. She was waiting for him to speak.

He made her wait a full minute before he went on.

“Payback’s a bitch.”

“What?” she exclaimed, confusion clouding her gorgeous hazel eyes.

“You heard me, sweetheart.”

 

Rey watched him pull off his jeans and eyed the bulge in his underwear.

Fuck, she wanted him. She desperately wanted to go back to that wild, exhilarating place they’d ventured into last night…

She just didn’t know what to do next to get back there. As quickly as possible.

This was very unfamiliar territory.

Ben seemed to sense it and raised his eyebrows at her, almost encouragingly.

“You could start with an apology,” he murmured.

She propped herself up on her elbows.

“I’m sorry,” she said, trying to sound sincere. He didn’t push her down again, and she took this as a sign that she was allowed to sit up.

She licked her lips and watched him as she sat up all the way. Her face was inches away from the very obvious erection outlined through the taut fabric of his boxer-briefs.

Carefully, she placed a hand on either side of his hips and leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on the rock-hard bulge.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, giving him her sexiest pout. She would try for playful. Maybe that would mitigate some of the unrelenting … darkness … pouring off him.

He didn’t move as she looked up at him, hoping to have softened the harshness in his expression.

His eye twitched, and he vowed quietly, “You will be.”

_What?_

She felt his hand wrap firmly around her ragged ponytail and force her head back into the mattress, so she was lying down again.

He followed her down, so it didn’t really hurt. It just surprised her. She gripped his arms and marveled at how hard they were, the deep indentations giving her fingers something delightfully solid to grip onto.

_Damn. I love his muscles,_ she thought.

He kept his weight off her, though, just hovering there, barely touching her, except for where he held her hair in a loose fist and her eyes with his.

She felt the hand not holding her hair skate softly down her side, flicking her untied bikini out of the way, skimming over the sensitive skin of her inner hip before moving back up to her ribs. He came frustratingly close to touching her breasts.

He kissed the side of her neck, softly. She turned her head, so he could kiss her mouth, but he ignored the offering.

His hand continued to slide up and down her body, over the tops of her thighs, across her belly… he was taking his time and being very thorough…

But he wasn’t touching her where she really _wanted_ it… he was teasing her.

He nuzzled the side of her neck and shivers of want seized her.

“Now. Does that earlier offer still stand? Your pussy?” he asked gently.

She nodded. _Hell, yes._

“Yes,” she whispered. _Finally._

She tried to move her arms around, so she could touch him, and his hand gripped her hair in warning. She felt his warm breath in her ear as he growled fiercely in a voice that did not match his gentle caresses, “If you move an inch, I swear to God, I’ll stop right now.”

She froze again. She didn’t want him to stop. Ever.

“Good girl.” He rewarded her with a kiss that knocked the breath out of her and a slow grind of his hips into hers that made the wet heat between her legs ache and throb with need.

She moaned at the feeling and resisted the urge to arch her aching breasts into his chest. Her nipples _hurt_ for want of friction...

She could feel the hot hardness of him through his underwear, but she was afraid to move. Ben had already proven himself more than willing to follow through on a promise made.

And she _really_ didn’t want him to stop.

He pushed himself against her again and kissed her softly on the lips.

This was beyond too much. She was feeling seriously frustrated. Trapped.

He deepened the kiss, giving her just a hint of his tongue before he pulled back and stared into her eyes, rubbing his groin against her in the most sinfully delicious pulses.

If he didn't do something soon, she was going to lose her mind.

“I know, sweetheart. I really, _really_ get it,” he whispered against her mouth, loosening his grip on her hair. “Don’t worry. By the end of tonight, you’re going to understand, too.”

He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, snagging her hands in his, pinning them roughly over her head before he continued.

“You’re going to have the full experience, I promise… endless wondering how long you can hold out before you lose your mind. Wishing you could just relieve some of the fucking _tension_ … because it fucking _hurts_ … knowing you can’t do a goddamn thing about it…”

Each statement was punctuated by a hot flick of his tongue against her throat, her earlobe, her collarbone…

“Welcome to my world of sexual frustration, sweetheart...”

He gave her a devil’s grin and put his forehead on hers, a wicked glint in his eyes.

_“You’re my guest.”_

At those words, Rey’s heart pounded with a combination of dread and anticipation.

Before she could ask him what the hell he meant, he kissed her again, and his mouth and tongue pillaged hers so thoroughly she forgot everything - everything – except for kissing him back.

He pulled back from the kiss far too quickly in her opinion. He stood up again, leaving her reeling at the loss of his warmth and weight.

Not giving her a chance to speak, he pushed her knees apart and knelt in front of the bed, slowly swiping his tongue over the wet folds between her legs.

“Now. Why don’t you show me what you’ve learned?”

 

He saw fury flash in her eyes and knew the instant she was going to argue with him. So he stroked her with his tongue, pushing it into her, and nuzzling at her clit until she arched her hips and cried out. 

He stopped and she tried to sit up, propping herself on her elbows. 

“Are we on set right now?” he asked her.

“Whaa? What?” she stuttered. _Oh, she’s angry with me… perfect._

“Are. We. On. Set? At work?” he repeated placidly.

“No,” she whimpered. “You know we aren’t.”

He watched her face while he licked her again, groaning at the taste of her.

“Where are we?” he asked, blowing gently on the slick pink lips of her sex.

Her whole body was shaking under his hands.

“Your room…” she answered weakly.

“So, it’s okay for you to show me your pussy now? Since we aren’t at work?” He put his mouth over her clit and suckled gently, flicking the hard little bud with his tongue.

Her hips spasmed under his hands and he gripped her thighs, anchoring her to the bed.

“Yes!” she cried in a near-shout. “Fuck! Ben!”

“You understand the difference?”

He slid his tongue over her clit and sucked on it a few times before stopping. He noticed how wet that made her and pulled away, clutching her legs with an iron grip.

“Ben! No! Don’t stop–”

_Oh, sweetheart. This is just the beginning._

But, fuck. She tasted good.

He put his mouth on her again and reveled in her soft scream of pleasure. He pushed his tongue into her again and bumped his nose against her clit and waited until she was arching against him and moaning in time to the movements of his mouth…

And then he pulled away. She was almost crying with frustration. She glared at him wrathfully.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” he asked cruelly, climbing on top of her. “You don’t like being teased?”

He rubbed his chest into hers, feeling her pebbled nipples slide across his skin. He exhaled, long and slow, letting her see how it affected him, knowing it would turn her on and piss her off. She gripped his shoulders until her fingernails dug into him, painfully.

Then he kissed her, gently stroking her neck with the back of his fingers. He nibbled on her earlobe and skimmed his hands over her breasts.

“You fucking bastard,” she hissed at him, fire in her eyes. “I know what you’re doing.”

“Oh, good,” he replied agreeably. Then he kissed her again, pushing his tongue into her mouth so she could taste herself on him. “Then you know what’s coming next…”

 

Rey was pissed at herself for letting things get to this point.

The gnawing ache of desire was becoming unbearable. She _wanted_ him. She wanted to feel him slide into her and make her lose control and watch his face when he came inside her.

Only, he wasn’t doing anything she wanted him to do – or if he did, as soon as he started, he seemed to know she was loving it and he’d stop…

It was becoming a desperate situation, really.

He angled his lips over hers and rubbed his chest against her aching breasts again. She couldn’t help a groan from escaping into his mouth.

He pulled back. Again.

“What’s lesson two, sweetheart?” He licked a line of fire from her jaw to the side of her breast.

_Lesson two? What the fuck?_

“Fuck you,” she snapped mutinously. 

He chuckled. “That’s the idea.”

He palmed a breast, then rolled the nipple with his thumb and fingers, kissing her until she squirmed against him and pushed her tongue back against his.

He shifted and rocked his pelvis into hers, surrounding her with exquisite sensation until her body sang and remembered what he was capable of, until she recalled how good he was at it, and knowing there was more to come.

He moaned into her mouth and the sound was so sinful, she was having trouble breathing let alone thinking.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice a caress in her ear. 

_Oh. Lesson two._

She tried to form a coherent response, so he wouldn’t stop kissing her, touching her. Her hands snaked into his silky-soft hair and she threaded her fingers into it, holding him there, breathing in his warm, masculine scent.

_He smells so sexy. How is that possible?_

“Um. Offer you whatever you want?” she guessed, nearly flying off the bed as his velvety-soft lips closed around a nipple and pulled at it gently.

He sucked hard, then pulled away.

“Close,” he murmured. “Although we both know I can take whatever I want. Don’t we?”

He scraped his chin over her other nipple and the slight rasp from his five o’clock shadow sent a surge of heat right to her core.

His eyes snapped with an _almost_ playfulness, a dark mischievousness that conflicted with the very real discomfort he was intentionally inflicting on her.

But he was ruthless and waiting for an answer. He was obviously holding on to the thread of the conversation better than she was.

_Begging worked last night. Maybe it will work again._

“Ben! Please. I get it… I’m sorry for teasing you. Just, _please!_ ” she couldn’t help herself from saying it, although she knew she still sounded agitated. Rebellious.

“Please? It’s been a bare ten, maybe fifteen minutes for you,” he muttered disapprovingly and slid a finger between her thighs. “And I’ve been suffering for weeks… Now. Were you offering something to me, Rey?”

“Yes!” she moaned, arching her hips into his finger. Any kind of penetration at this point was a relief…

He pushed a second finger into her and she pulled at his hair.

“Prove it, then,” he commanded relentlessly.  

She let go of his hair and gripped his hand as he worked it teasingly between her legs.

“Ben. You can have it. You can have me. Anything you want. Just, please,” she begged.

He moved his hand away and she almost broke down into tears until she realized he was just pulling off his underwear…

He had this look on his face… like he was serious but enjoying himself… _toying with her. Teaching her a lesson._

Her temper flared, but it wasn’t enough to match her escalating desire.

Once fully naked, he didn’t give her time to look him over like he did the night before, but she caught a familiar glimpse of his engorged cock before he grabbed her legs and flipped her over into a kneeling position on the bed.

“What’s lesson three, sweetheart?” His low voice and presence behind her felt suddenly menacing.

_Dammit_. She’d been hoping he’d forgotten this part by now… _Payback..._

She felt his large hand push her knees wider apart and she felt a moment of shock at being so exposed.

“What is it?” he persisted.

His hands slid over her ass, cupping the cheeks and gently kneading before sweeping up her waist and around to her breasts.

She arched her chest down into the warm hands palming her breasts, and finally said reluctantly, “Payback is a bitch…”

“Yes, it is.” His fingers plucked at her tender nipples and she squealed at the sensation, pushing back into him eagerly.

He removed his hands and she moaned, but she knew now that was to be expected.

He was teaching her a lesson, and she would learn it, if only to never have him torment her like this again…

She watched over her shoulder as he guided himself to her exposed flesh, rubbing the head of his shaft against her in a few tantalizing swipes before pushing in… so slowly she thought she was going to die…

She groaned at the sensation of him standing behind her, only touching her lightly by the hips while pushing slowly between her legs. Every nerve ending she had was focused on that spot.

She heard a muted “Mmph” from him as he pulled out of her and repeated the motion of rubbing himself against her dripping flesh before pushing halfway into her and pulling out again.

He kept doing it until she was sobbing and begging and incoherent with want.

She could feel herself on the edge, and she hated him just a little bit for doing this to her. When she couldn’t stand it anymore, she reached down with one hand to touch herself, to bring some kind of relief…

But Ben roughly grabbed her hand and pulled it away, murmuring to her, “No, no, no, sweetheart... you really need to get the point I’m trying to teach you… _it isn’t fucking nice to tease me._ ”

He flipped her around, glaring at her. His jaw clenched and unclenched as he dragged his gaze down her body.

He climbed onto the bed and sat against the headboard, pulling her with him until she straddled him, legs spread wide. She hovered over the incredible heat of his groin and couldn't stop her legs from shaking.

She braced her hands on his chest and rubbed them over his sweat-glistened pecs.

His eyes, black with lust, pierced her as if he were mining her thoughts, choking her resolve, pushing his own will into hers…

And she gave in.

His hands held her hovering over him for just a second, not allowing her to move. Her breath caught and something shifted in the expression on his face.

Because he could see her finally, fully yield.

And then he angled her body over his, and with a hard flex of his hips, pulled her down onto him with one hard stroke.

She screamed his name, a raw animal sound, and he snarled a wordless cry as his body quaked under hers.

He did it again, and he hit her deep and it was what she’d been waiting for, what she’d needed – to be reminded of him and the way he felt, stretching her and filling her.

She leaned forward, and he seized her waist, rocking into her with the force of a tempest, desperate cries of passion ripped from his throat that made her wet and wanting more.

A bead of sweat slid down his neck and she leaned in to lick it, and when she did she felt his hot mouth cling to the tip of her breast, forcing a shuddering cry from her.

“Fuck, yes! Ben!”

He mercilessly forced her to ride him, pushing her thighs apart until she had no leverage, until all she could do was hold on and sob his name. 

He ground out in an inhuman voice, “Are you done with your head games? Your - ” he viciously twisted his hips into hers “ – _fucking teasing?_ ”

“Yes!” she screamed as he pounded into her, his hands gripping her in a vice-like hold.

“You’re going to be nice now? And behave yourself?” he prompted savagely.

“Yes, I promise!” she cried out.

She meant it. Sincerely.

“Should I stop?” He glared at her ferociously, even as he fucked into her so hard she could feel herself starting to clench around him, squeezing and clutching as she urgently tried to reach her orgasm.

“No! Ben! Please, don’t, please!” she wailed desperately.

She saw him weighing the decision in his mind. She gripped his sweaty hair on either side of his head and kissed him for all she was worth, pulling a strangled growl from him.

She pulled back and whispered a pleading, "Please. Don't stop."

Mouth hovering an inch over his, she stared at him and saw… everything.

Pain.

Loneliness.

And a need to be _known_ down to the marrow of his bones… to have someone care enough to reign in the darkness… to be there.

She saw it all. She could read him as clearly as her own mind.

Their eyes connected and something else linked, too… a merging of spirit or soul or something undefinable and infinite…

_Don’t hurt me again, Rey._

_Don’t hurt me, Ben._

_I can’t fucking bear it anymore._

_I’m tired of being alone._

_You’re not alone._

_I’m with you. I’m here._

And as their bodies pushed and strained together, he whispered, “Come with me,” and she willingly jumped over the edge with all her heart.

Right into love.


	11. A Pair of Pretty Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smut and angst revisited.

Ben Solo was so far gone, he was never coming back.

A week ago, he would have laughed aloud at the ridiculous notion he couldn’t get this girl out of his system.

And now? She was so deep under his skin, he knew she was never getting out. His gut churned at the idea.

After everything he’d been through, after everything he’d learned about the realities of love and letting people in…

_Did I really just get pulled in? That easy? Am I really that fucking weak?_

He held her, listening to her soft breathing as she slumbered on his chest.

He watched her doze for a few minutes, then slowly extracted himself from her sleepy embrace and made his way to the bathroom they shared.

He’d let Rey Niima into the vault of his heart and – _no._

He didn’t let her in.

She’d invaded the damn thing – and it had been a fucking fortress – and she’d cracked it open like an egg.

One look from those gorgeous eyes of hers. And he'd been gone.

 _You were so angry. So alone. And she took it all away. With a look_.

_She has no fucking idea._

He hoped.

Naked, he stood in front of the mirror, and his eyes were drawn inevitably to the still-healing scar on his shoulder.

He turned on the faucet to fill the bathtub, thinking to relax in the hot water and consider the monumental fuck-up this new complication brought to his life.

Ben’s grim thoughts haunted him as he watched the steaming hot water fill the tub.

_Are you just like Dad, willing to destroy everything for a pair of pretty eyes?_

 

Rey woke up and Ben wasn’t in bed with her. The coolness of the sheet next to her told her he’d been gone for a little while.

The dark room was illuminated only by the lights from the city outside, which peeped through the cracks in the blinds over the windows.

Rey heard a small splashing sound from the bathroom. It sounded like…

_Is he in the tub? At this hour?_

She wondered how Ben was feeling after… _After_.

 _Oh, dammit,_ she thought, as the memory of everything flooded her in a cascade of awareness. _I think I love him._

_Rey. You are such an idiot._

Falling for the one guy in the world who could rip her heart out as casually as he broke dreams and smashed hopes. Everyone knew Ben Solo was a monster.

And she loved him.

Her heart skittered with dread and her stomach clenched in a knot of fear.

Because if she loved him, then it meant she would have to trust him.

And if she trusted him, then he deserved to know. _Everything_.

She wasn’t sure if she had the strength to tell him everything.

But she would have to try.

 _I'll have to try...later,_ she amended. _But first._

She slipped out of bed and crept to the bathroom, slowly pushing open the door. In spite of her anxious thoughts, she couldn’t help but giggle at the sight greeting her.

Big, Bad Ben Solo, the _Dream Killer_ , ruthless overlord of the music industry, who brought terror to the heart of every hopeful auditionee who encountered him…

…was taking a bubble bath.

Her mirth ended in a fluttering, breathless gasp as she took it all in. His dark hair was wet and slicked back from his face, emphasizing the dramatic cheekbones and smoldering eyes. She could see the tops of his knees peeking above the surface of the water, his arms spanning the edges of the tub, drawing her attention inevitably to the broad expanse of his chest. Water droplets clung to all of the interesting curves of muscle and collarbone visible above the water’s surface.

Somehow his lips appeared fuller, redder, and even more luscious than they usually did. He gave her a slight smile.

Her knees went a little weak at the sight. If she wasn’t already head over heels, that little smile would have done the trick.

He returned her gaze and he didn’t speak a word. He just crooked his finger at her. _Come here._

Naturally, she obeyed.

“You look like you’ve been mauled by a bear,” he said casually, as she climbed into the tub with him. She sat facing him, leaning against the opposite side of the tub, tucking her feet under her.

“In a manner of speaking,” she retorted, keeping her voice light in spite of the intensity she sensed from him.

Something in the atmosphere hung between them. It was heavy and penetrating, and she did not want to explore it at the moment.

“I’m sorry,” he said so softly she almost couldn’t hear the words.

He glanced over the love bites on her neck and chest, which had darkened to a deep purple over the past twenty-four hours. “I shouldn’t have – I hope I didn’t screw things up for your music video. You probably already had your wardrobe planned, huh?”

She blinked at him, surprised.

Ben Solo was not known for being considerate, in general. She wasn’t sure she’d ever heard him apologize for anything. Ever.

“Well, yeah, but we have to keep it pretty tame. My demographic is teenagers, you know?”

He hesitated before asking the next question. “You know _American Stars_ has the same demographic? And, forgive me, sweetheart, but your wardrobe for the show isn’t exactly…”

He had a bit of a twinkle in his eyes, softening what might have otherwise come across as a reproach, and her heart contracted just a bit.

She knew what he meant but felt a devilish desire to mess with him. Just a little.

“Hmm. You’re saying I should wear panties for my music video?” She gave him a wide-eyed, innocent look of astonishment and swatted a handful of water at him.

As if they hadn’t gone over the issue of panties on set in some detail, quite thoroughly, just hours before.

His eyes glinted, and he sat forward, pulling her to him, making her squeal with mock fright until she was forced to climb into his lap.

“Are you telling me you didn’t learn lesson one?” he said severely, wrapping his hands around her hips. “I must be a terrible teacher…”

She grinned at him teasingly. “And I am a terrible student.”

 

He couldn’t resist pulling her legs around him until she kneeled over him, warm and wet in the bath, in a position so reminiscent of just a few hours before – when _it_ had happened. Ben lost all rationality to the overwhelming urge to feel it again.

That electric, horrible, gut-wrenching _knowing_.

_This is the girl who could end me._

He couldn’t fight it when her hands stroked over his chest, up his neck, and into his hair. She had taken over, somehow, and Ben, who had always, _always_ been the one to initiate sex, felt a bit out of his element… as if she were stripping him of resistance and showing him something, and he really needed to fucking pay attention because it was _important_...

He couldn’t resist when her hands brushed the base of his scalp and curled around his jaw, holding him there as he held her by the waist, locked in place for a sizzling kiss.

He vaguely realized, although he was near twice her size, she was the one who could break him.

She _was_ breaking him.

As her warm, sweet mouth took over his lips, her thumbs moved in unison to smooth around his ears.

His damned ears that stuck out too far, which he’d always _hated_ and tried to cover up with his hair… he’d never loved them more when she pushed the pads of her thumbs around the edges and pulled on the lobes with a gentle squeeze. She repeated the motion until his breath shuddered and he wanted _more_.

He couldn’t help the groan of pleasure that pushed from his mouth into hers as she sat on him, naked and dripping in the bathtub. Her heated mouth worked over his and her lovely gorgeous hands smoothed and circled around his ears, jaw, and throat, and it was magic.

She was undoing him.

She slid her hands down his chest, nails gently scraping over the contours of his pecs, down his ribs, and over the flat, hard planes of his abdomen. When a curled finger rubbed up and down over the scruffy line of hair leading from his navel to his groin, another moan issued from him, low and unchecked.

“I know just what you need,” she muttered into his mouth, her tongue flicking over his lips and teeth as she moved her hand lower and sat back just a bit.

But he couldn’t reply, because she had moved her hand down, smoothing over the crease of his inner thigh and cupping gently around his balls. A strangled growl escaped his throat when he felt her fingers rolling and squeezing oh-so-gently and suddenly the thought occurred that she literally had him by the balls and he didn’t even care, so long as she didn’t stop.

He was so thoroughly beguiled, he couldn’t help it when their eyes caught again, and he was pulled into her gaze.

And there it was again… that _knowing_ …

His hands moved over her to cover her breasts, wet and shining from the water, her nipples puckered from the cold.

He leaned forward to capture tight pink bud in his mouth, to stroke the velvety texture of her with his tongue, and she fucking giggled and whimpered at the same time, and it made him so fucking hard he _hurt_.

Her hands on him caressed and squeezed, and suddenly he wanted her more than air. More than anything.

She seemed to know it, as she adjusted herself over him, angling her hips and gripping his aching erection. And then she was sliding him between her legs and – _oh! fuck!_ – the tight, silky heat of her brought forth another strangled moan from deep in his chest.

She slid her thumbs around his ears again and kissed him until he couldn’t think anymore. Until all he could think of was keeping her here like this, impaled on him, encompassing him with her soft, clutching pussy, as the water splashed gently around them.

He slid his hands over every part of her he could reach and kissed her back, pushing his tongue into her warm, wet mouth until she gasped with delight.

She started rolling her hips over his and he gave himself over to pure, exquisite sensation, lost in her pretty hazel eyes…

“Fuck, you feel amazing,” he murmured.

“Mmmm, so do you,” she whispered, as he pushed his hips into her a bit more forcefully.

“Yeah?” he asked, pulling her down onto him with a slightly rougher grip.

“Ohhh! Yes, right there, fuck!” she groaned. “Don’t stop!”

Driven by desire, he increased the pace, pulling her onto him with feverish intensity as he sat forward, forcing her to ride him as deeply as possible.

“Touch yourself,” he commanded, watching as she moved a trembling hand to where their bodies met under the surface of the water.

He covered her hand with one of his, feeling her movements as she rubbed her clit in tight little circles, watching her eyes close and her head fall back as he thrust into her steadily, relentlessly.

Water splashed everywhere, but he didn’t notice or care. He could only watch her and feel her as she began the slow climb to orgasm, threatening to bring him over the edge before she could reach it with him.

And suddenly it was very important they reach it together again. So he could see if _it_ was real, to ensure the last time hadn’t just been a coincidence or a mistake...  

Their movements became more frantic, more furious as they built together until he felt stretched so thin it was only a matter of moments before he knew he would break.

“Open your eyes,” he demanded through gritted teeth. _Look at her eyes. See if it’s real…_

Her eyes snapped open on a ragged groan and locked on his, just as her body began to clench and spasm around him, and his gleamed triumphantly, because – _fuck! yes!_ – _there it is._ _Again._

"Mmmmm! Yes-yes-yes-oh-Ben-yes!" she sobbed with parted lips, face flushed with passion. 

He felt his own mouth twist into a feral snarl as he pumped into her fiercely, their gazes still locked, and she milked him of everything he had, taking him with her into the dark, swirling surrender. With a muffled shout, he buried his face in the softness of her neck as he finished, gasping loudly and shuddering at his prolonged release and noticing vaguely she clung to him just as desperately...and he _knew_. 

He was so far gone…he wasn't sure he'd ever find the way back.

He wasn't sure he wanted to. 

 

After their bath, Rey was asleep again, and Ben felt a bit restless. There was no chance he was going to be able to fall asleep again, not with everything he had on his mind.

The clock on the nightstand told him it was just after four in the morning.

Ben could feel the dark and quiet enveloping the penthouse and knew he would not be falling back to sleep. Not tonight.

He tucked a blanket around Rey, hoping she would get another hour or two of sleep, and then slipped out of bed and threw on some sweatpants and a t-shirt.

He could get some coffee going and have a few minutes to himself. He needed to think.

On his way down the hall, he heard a gruff little bark and tiny puppy nails scrabbling at the door of Poe’s room. _Beebee._

He felt like a bit of a perv as he listened at the door for a minute, but all he heard was snoring from the other side, so he cracked the door to let Beebee out.

Beebee ran out into the hall with a wag of his tail in friendly greeting. He yipped a few times until Ben growled sternly, “Quiet.” To his surprise, Beebee sat and wagged his tail, waiting for Ben’s next command.

“You and I are going to have to be friends, little buddy,” Ben said softly. “But I’m the boss. Don’t forget it.”

Beebee wagged his tail again and barked once. _An affirmative? Huh._

Ben shook his head and headed downstairs to the kitchen, and the little dog followed behind.

He went to the sliding door to the patio and let Beebee out, but his thoughts were still upstairs. On Rey.

On how willingly she’d climbed into his lap and his realization their earlier moment – the connection that had zapped between them like a tangible force – had not waned but strengthened.

He’d seen something there… Something he never thought he could hope for. _Acceptance?_

Was that what he’d seen in Rey’s eyes that had shaken him to his core?

Because he was shaken. Weakened, now. And he’d willingly allowed it.

_There is no way to un-fuck this._

_Fuck._

How does a person make himself fall out of love? he wondered, going into the kitchen to make a pot of very strong coffee and a mental list of why it was a very bad idea to have fallen for Rey Niima.

 

Ben had spent summers with his uncle for as long as he could remember. 

Luke and Leia lived on opposite sides of the country, working together for Skywalker Records, while Han spent so much time with his own business interests, Millennium Falcon Shipping, Inc. Ben often felt like the odd piece of a puzzle, never quite sure where he fit in with his family but wishing he could fit better, somehow.

Going to Luke’s was the closest he ever felt to having a place of belonging. The summer he was seventeen had been no different, although Luke had been… _off_.

That summer things felt weird and Ben didn’t know why. But, he knew something was wrong when Luke barely acknowledged him this time around. They still went to the studio almost every day, but Ben spent more time in the company of the employees than he did with his uncle.

Once again, he felt like the odd piece of a puzzle that didn’t quite fit into the picture.

Luke, usually so friendly and congenial, was darker and more brooding. He drank non-stop, from morning until late in the evenings, and Ben noticed but didn’t say anything.

Ben didn’t find out until the night before he left California why Luke had been so on edge.

The night he found out his parents were separated. Because of his father’s affair.

Luke had been drinking all day, not anything new lately, but it was disconcerting for Ben, who had always loved hanging out with his uncle at work, learning the ropes of the music industry from someone who wouldn’t smother him like his mother tended to do, or ignore him the way his father tended to.

When Ben went to sleep that night, Luke had already gone three-quarters of the way through a bottle of whiskey.

Ben woke up three hours later to the sight of his uncle standing next to his bed, weaving back and forth on his feet, muttering, “Han, you faithless, cheating piece of shit!”

That had been scary enough until Ben realized Luke held a gun in his hand. Ben would never forget the sick dread and fear at the thought he was going to die that night. 

Luke was obviously drunk. Beyond drunk. “Uncle Luke?” Ben whispered eyeing the gun and wondering if it was fucking loaded.

It was. Because the next second, Luke had pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into the floorboards.

Ben jumped at the sharp bang of the shot, then reacted almost immediately by kicking out at Luke’s chest.

Luke stumbled back a few steps at the blow, seeming to wake from his drunken stupor as Ben’s kick knocked the wind out of him.

“You thought I was my dad?” Ben shouted, jumping from the bed and snatching the gun from his uncle’s weak grip. It was a .38 revolver, and Ben knew how to check the chamber. Sure enough, it had been fully loaded. And Ben had never felt so alone and scared in his life.

Luke stared back at him, gasping for air with shock on his face… “Ben?”

“What the fuck?! You had a fucking loaded gun?”

Ben backed away from his uncle’s gasping, heaving form. Then he ran.

Something was wrong, and his uncle had just tried to kill him.

He snatched up his phone and ran from the house tossing the gun into the shrubs by the front door on the way out. He ran barefoot for over a mile before he realized he had nowhere to go, nobody to call for help. He wasn’t even sure if his mother was in the country right now, and he _really_ didn’t want to call his father after what Luke had said…

_…you faithless, cheating piece of shit…what did that mean?_

Ben called a cab and decided he would have to go back to Luke’s to get his ID. And his shoes. He would have to figure this out like an adult. On his own.

When he got back to Luke’s, he found his uncle passed out on his bedroom floor.

Ben didn’t know what to do, so he grabbed up his things as quickly as he could and ran back out to the cab he’d kept waiting for him.

Ben was on a plane that morning for New York.

Luke was in New York and in rehab two days later. They’d worked it out, eventually. Ben had never felt so sorry for someone when he saw the true regret in his uncle’s eyes.

When Luke made amends, he meant it.

Two months after the incident, Ben agreed to visit him in rehab and Luke explained how, in his drunken, twisted mind he’d gotten confused, how he’d been obsessed with the betrayal of his best friend. He had been so drunk, he’d mistaken Ben to be Han – they looked so much alike. Luke took full responsibility for his actions and even told Ben he would understand if he wanted to press charges for assault with a deadly weapon.

But Ben found he didn’t have it in him to further destroy the family by sending his uncle to prison. Luke was sorry and Ben sensed it was the truth, even though he knew it would take years to ever rebuild their relationship. Still, in Ben's mind, Luke’s actions had been borne from loyalty and outrage on behalf of Ben’s mother. Ben understood.

Ben could forgive him. But he could never forgive his father for having an affair.

That was a betrayal he just couldn’t stomach.

After visiting his uncle in rehab and getting a much clearer picture of what had been going on with his parents for the past few months, Ben decided enough was enough.

His rage had been building for months.

He’d just turned eighteen and he was going to confront his father as a man. 

The confrontation had not ended well.

 

Ben was halfway through his pot of coffee, reflecting on the events that had driven him to go to college in California, then to Snoke. And Aurra.

He remembered how he’d cut off everyone in his life except for them, and how he hadn’t reconnected with his mother or uncle until after he’d been unhappily married for years.

He’d visited his mother in New York a few times, but only briefly and only when he knew his father was away on business.

Living in California had made it a bit easier to keep in touch with Luke, but Ben had kept the relationship deliberately superficial, especially after launching KRM. And his disastrous marriage had provided enough of its own distractions that his interactions with anyone in his family were limited to the very occasional.

His gloomy thoughts were interrupted by the muffled voices of his parents returning from their event.

They came through the door and noticed him sitting at the kitchen island.

Right on cue, his mother started in. “Benjamin! It’s so early. You should be sleeping, honey, you’ve got –”

Ben interrupted her before she could finish nagging him. “Couldn’t sleep.”

Leia looked tired but energized at the same time – she always loved a good social event, and Ben knew his mother had the kind of personality that thrived on being around people.

His father, on the other hand, looked wrung out. 

Ben didn’t feel too bad about that, and took another sip of his coffee, hoping they would leave him in solitude.

He watched Han kiss his mother on the cheek and murmur, “I’ll be up in a bit. Wanna have a chat with the boy.”

Leia gave Ben a tired smile and made her way upstairs.

_Shit. When’s the last time I had a one-on-one conversation with my dad?_

Ben’s stomach dropped as he realized it had been the night he’d put Han Solo in the hospital. The night he’d confronted his father for destroying their family.

Ben kept his silence as he watched his father strip out of his jacket and tie before helping himself to a cup of coffee.

“Still drink it black?” Ben asked, trying to find his way on this uneven ground. He wasn’t sure he wanted to talk to his father right now, but he wasn’t sure he didn’t want to talk to him, either.

“Some things never change,” Han replied gruffly. “You still hate me after all these years?”

_Oh. So, we’re just gonna dive right in. Okay._

“I don’t hate you. I never... Well, maybe I did hate you. You deserved it,” Ben said, a hint of acid in his tone.

“Well, I deserved a lot back then. But that is in the past. We’ve moved on, your mother and I.” Han looked at his son cautiously.

Ben felt old, familiar anger rush through him. _How dare he? How dare he sit there so casually and act like what he’d done to the family hadn’t destroyed everything? As if he has the right to be…_

“She’s too good for you,” Ben said pointedly, glancing upstairs to where his mother had disappeared to.

“I know.” Han looked at his son with a bit of steel in his eye and his voiced hardened a fraction. “Doesn’t mean I don’t thank God every day she forgave me. That’s the thing about redemption, kid. You don’t always get it, but when you do, you damn well better take it.”

“Redemption?” Ben hissed. “You swung first. How’s that redeemable?”

“Like I said, kid. You don’t always get it. That’s what makes it so priceless.” Han muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! I know some of you have been wondering what the heck has been happening with this story, and I apologize for the long delay in updating! I've had some real-life crap going on, and then I got sidetracked with what I thought was going to be a one-shot that turned into this whole other thing. (Devil on the Dark Side - you should check it out if you haven't yet!)
> 
> Also, I finally finished Music to My Ears, which I've been meaning to for a while. So. Really I've been busy, just not with this story.
> 
> That being said, I'm hoping to have some more regular updates on this story, because I really have some exciting stuff planned!
> 
> XOXO, and thank you all for being fabulous (and patient!),  
> Amy B.


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